2012 IWLCA All-Region Teams
Grantham, PA – Coming off a 2012 season that included a run into the Second Round of the NCAA Championships, Messiah College was honored on Friday with four IWLCA All-Region honors. Seniors
Rachel Dirksen and
Rachel Coyle, and sophomore
Lizzy Keeney were named First Team All-Region, with junior
Taylor Phillips earned a Second Team recognition.
The All-Region awards are for the Metro Region of the IWLCA. For Dirksen and Coyle, the announcement comes a day after the pair learned they would be participating
in the annual IWLCA/Under Armour North-South Senior All-Star Game.
Additionally, this marks the second straight season that Dirksen and Coyle have both been named First Team All-Region. Dirksen was also a Second Team honoree in 2010. Phillips adds her Second Team honor to a First Team recognition in 2011, while Kenney's All-Region recognition is the first of her career.
Dirksen and Coyle were two members of a five-member senior class in 2012 that will (to date) go down as the most accomplished class in program history. They graduate with a career record of 61-15—the most wins over a four-year stretch for a Falcons' team. This season also marked the third time in four years that the Falcons advanced into the NCAA Championships for women's lacrosse, with two years—2009 and 2011—including MAC Championships.
Dirksen graduates as the most accomplished individual player in Falcons' history. She ended her career as the Falcons' all-time leader in career goals scored (238), assists (107), points (345), and draw controls (237).
For Coyle, the All-Region is recognition of her being one of the most effective and feared defenders in the Commonwealth Conference and NCAA. She led the Falcons this season with 52 groundballs and 37 caused turnovers, with her 2.18 caused turnovers per game average ranking 27
th in the nation.
Keeney earns her first All-Region honor after blossoming into one of the most complete players in the Commonwealth Conference and Metro Region. She was second on the team in goals scored (59) and assists (21), while leading the team with 86 draw controls. She was also fifth in caused turnovers (16) and seventh in groundballs (25) for the Falcons.
As for Phillips, the Second Team honor is recognition of her continued reputation for being a shut-down goalie on a nationally contending team. Though her save percentage (.451) and goals against average (8.56) did not match her record-breaking numbers from a year ago, Phillips remains a dependable and respected piece of a Falcons' defense that ranked 21
st in the nation in scoring defense (8.11 ga).
