PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – The No. 2 ranked Pace University women's lacrosse team reached new heights this season, and as a result, took home a haul of NE10 All-Conference awards. The Setters had six players earn First-Team All-Conference, two players with All-Conference Third Team selections, and three freshmen were named to the All-Conference Rookie Team. Head coach Tricia Molfetta picked up an award as well, as she was named NE10 Coach of the Year.
Grad student midfielder Aleya Corretjer (Thiells, N.Y./North Rockland) was named attacker of the year after her outstanding season, while grad student Kayla Conway (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh) and junior Angelina Porcello (Eastchester, N.Y./Eastchester) were named Co-Midfielders of the Year. All three were also named to the All-Conference First Team, in addition to grad student midfielder Emma Rafferty (Bay Shore, N.Y./Islip), senior defender Delilah Doyle (West Babylon, N.Y./West Babylon Senior) and junior defender Alexandra Quinn (Eastport, N.Y./Eastport South Manor).
Junior midfielder Julianna Febbraio (Carmel, N.Y./Carmel) and freshman goalkeeper Samantha Tanguay (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) picked up Third-Team selections for Pace, while Tanguay, midfielder Mackenzie Carita (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) and defender Katie Long (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) were named Rookie Team selections in their first seasons.
Corretjer leads the team in scoring this season with 39 goals and 48 assists for a total of 87 points. She has set a new program record this season with her 48 assists, shattering the old record of 33, while also setting the single-game assists record with seven helpers in a victory at the University of Tampa on March 15. Her 81 career assists are the most in program history, and she recorded her 100th career goal earlier this season as well. On the year, she has two game-winning goals, 20 ground balls, 15 draw controls and eight caused turnovers. Corretjer has recorded at least two points in every game this season, while adding 11 multi-goal games on the year.
Conway is second on the team with 50 goals this year, while adding 12 assists for 62 points. She has 64 draw controls on the season, and earlier this season set the program's all-time draw control record. The grad student is second on the team with four game-winners and has 29 ground balls to go along with 28 caused turnovers this season. She tied a career high with seven goals in Pace's 16-9 victory over Southern New Hampshire University in the NE10 Conference Championships Quarterfinal and has recorded at least five points in each of the team's previous four games.
Rafferty has 71 goals on the year, setting yet another program record, and has 15 assists for 86 points, good for second on the team. She has scored five game-winning goals, picked up 16 ground balls and caused seven turnovers. The grad student set another record on April 22 at Franklin Pierce University, when she scored eight goals in a single game. Her performance this season has put her over 200 points for her career, and she has scored five or more goals seven times on the year.
Porcello ranks third on the team with 43 goals and fourth in points with 58. She scored her 100th career goal earlier in the year, and leads the team with 45 ground balls, 38 caused turnovers and 107 draw controls. The junior has scored the game-winner three times and has scored four goals in a game on five separate occasions this season.
Doyle has been key in the defensive success the Setters had this season, helping hold teams to an average of 7.58 goals per game. The senior has 24 ground balls this season, which ranked her fifth on the team, and 33 caused turnovers, putting her second among all Pace players. On April 29 against Saint Michael's College, she had a season-high four ground balls and four caused turnovers.
Quinn has had a big year on the defensive end as well and is currently second on the team with 83 draw controls. She's also tied for third among all Setters with 26 ground balls, while ranking fourth with 19 caused turnovers. The junior also contributed on the offensive end, recording one goal and two assists this season.
Febbraio was another key piece for Pace in their own end, as she had 20 ground balls and 17 caused turnovers, while picking up 12 draw controls. She's had one goal and two assists on the year and had her best defensive game of the year on April 15 against Saint Anselm. Febbraio had four caused turnovers in the victory, while picking up two ground balls.
Tanguay was named to both the All-Conference Third Team and Rookie Team, leading the way for the Setters in net during her freshman season. She's made 13 starts in net, going a perfect 13-0 while appearing in 16 of 17 games. The freshman has a 6.38 goals against average while posting a .454 save percentage on 161 shots faced.
Long, who started the season as a defender before making the switch to midfield, was a key contributor on both ends of the field for Pace. She scored 16 goals and had one assist on the year, while picking up 10 ground balls, causing three turnovers and adding four draw controls. She had back-to-back three-goal games against Adelphi University on March 29 and Southern New Hampshire on April 1.
Carita has played in 16 games for the Setters in her first year while making 14 starts. She has 22 ground balls and has caused 14 turnovers while picking up three draw controls. She scored the first goal of her collegiate career on March 3 in a victory over No. 1 ranked East Stroudsburg University, while also picking up three ground balls and causing one turnover in the game.
2023 is Molfetta's sixth season as head coach of the Setters, and she's led the team to its best season in the nine-year history of the program. Pace went 15-1 in the regular season this year, including a perfect 12-0 record in the NE10 to clinch the No. 1 seed in the conference for the first time. The Setters have defeated nine ranked opponents in 2023, with each win coming by at least 10 goals. Pace has currently won 14 straight games, the longest winning streak in team history, with each of the last 11 wins being a double-digit margin of victory.
Pace now advances to the NE10 Semifinals, where they will host No. 5 seed Saint Anselm College Friday, May 5 at 6 p.m.
