ATLANTA, Ga. - The 2021 ASUN Conference regular season and tournament champions, the Jacksonville University women's lacrosse team took home nine All-Conference awards led by senior attack Sarah Elms who was named Player of the Year, head coach Mindy McCord was named Coach of the Year and midfield junior Molly Brock was named Defensive Player of the Year, as announced by the league Tuesday afternoon. Elms grabbed the first Player of the Year award for JU since 2018 and Brock is the first Defensive Player of the Year for JU since 2017.
Five Dolphins - Senior defender Casey Sullivan, senior attack Alyssa Arnold, senior attack Jenny Kinsey, Elms and Brock were all selected to the ASUN All-Conference First Team. Three players - junior goalkeeper Dayna Martinetto, junior defender Beth Cornelius and senior midfielder Lauren Phillips were named to the ASUN All-Conference Second Team, while newcomer Brianna Samuels was listed on the ASUN All-Freshman Team.
Guiding Jacksonville to its fourth-straight ASUN championship and seventh since joining the conference, head coach Mindy McCord was a unanimous choice for ASUN Coach of The Year. This is her fifth time receiving the honor. After COVID-19 ended the 2020 season early, McCord wasted no time prepping the team to return to their winning ways. With a 3-0 conference record and a win over #5/6 Florida on March 13, the Dolphins found themselves in the top 20 rankings for seven consecutive weeks. During her time at JU, McCord has earned seven ASUN Conference tournament crowns, seven ASUN regular season titles and seven NCAA Tournament appearances.
After a stellar senior campaign and being named ASUN tournament MVP, Elms was a unanimous selection for Player of the Year. During the tournament she accumulated 12 goals, posting a season-high of six in each game. Elms has had 10 games with hat trick performances and six games with five or more goals. In her career she has been awarded six weekly ASUN awards, and named player of the week three times during the 2021 season. Her impressive overall statistics include; 51 goals, 10 assists, 61 points, 120 shots, 81 shots on goal, 25 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers.
A staple on defense, Brock was named to the ASUN All-Tournament team. During the tournament she contributed six goals, one assist, four draw controls, one caused turnover and two ground balls against Stetson. In the final against Liberty, Brock scored once and assisted on another, while collecting six draw controls, two caused turnovers and two ground balls. This year she has been named Defensive Player of the Week three times, and four times overall in her career. The week of March 16, Brock was named IWLCA Defensive Player of the Week, after having a career performance against ranked opponent, Florida. During the competition against the Gators, Brock set a new career-high and tied the program's single-game record with 13 draw controls while also picking up five ground balls.
Brianna Samuels has had a solid first year as a Dolphin. She has started in two of the eight games she has participated in as a true freshman. Samuels made her collegiate debut in the season opening match against High Point, and collected two ground balls and scored her first collegiate goal in a 14-13 win. She also found the net in wins over Radford and Mercer.
First Team selections were lead by Kinsey, the 2021 ASUN Preseason Player of the Year. After winning the ASUN Championship, she was named to the All-Tournament team. In the semi-final against Stetson, she contributed two goals, two assists and three shots with two of them on goal. During the final against Liberty, she scored four goals, on nine shots with six on goal, picked up three ground balls and had two caused turnovers. This year she has had seven games with a hat trick performance and three games with five or more goals. Kinsey has earned four ASUN weekly awards, with two of them occurring during the 2021 season.
Casey Sullivan has had a solid senior campaign for the Dolphins. A staple of the Dolphins' defense, the highlight of her season was the contest against High Point (2/12/21). In the game she earned career-highs of four ground balls and two draw controls, while also scoring her first ever goal in a JU uniform. She was named ASUN Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career following Jacksonville's 14-13 win.
Following Sullivan, Arnold has also had a strong senior season for JU. In the game against #5/6 Florida, Arnold contributed three goals, one assist and had one caused turnover. In the ASUN Conference Championship, she combined for three goals, four assists, five shots with three on goal and two ground balls. She earned a career-high of three ground balls in the season opener against High Point. Earlier in the year she was tabbed to the ASUN 2021 Preseason squad.
Second Team selections were lead by Phillips, who has been excellent at midfield for the Dolphins. After earning one ground ball, five draw controls against Stetson in the ASUN Conference semifinal match and four ground balls and four caused turnovers in the ASUN Championship game against Liberty, Phillips landed a spot on the All-Tournament team. In the game against #5/6 Florida, she earned a season-high of five ground balls. The week of May 5, she garnered her first ASUN weekly award after being named Defensive Player of the Week.
Cornelius has had a breakout year on defense during the 2021 season. She earned a career-high of caused turnovers with three, during the home finale against Liberty. Against ranked opponent, Florida, she accumulated four ground balls to earn another career-high statistic.
Martinetto rounds out the All-Conference selections as she has been strong in the net for the Dolphins. She leads the ASUN in categories regarding saves with 55 percent, goals against with 32 and goals against avg with 6.56. Overall she has had 39 saves, with three being against ranked Florida. The week of March 24 she was tabbed the ASUN's Defensive Player of the Week after playing a vital role in the overtime win against Virginia Tech. During the game she came in clutch with eight saves in the second half.
Up next, the Dolphins will compete against Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The game is set for May 14, in Gainesville, Fla. at 6:30 pm EST.
