PSAC Release
BLOOMSBURG—Bloomsburg University lacrosse player
Samantha Mazzie (Barto, Boyertown) was named the 2010 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Freshman of the Year and
Leah Carr earned Coach of the Year honors as voted on by the conference coaches.
Allie Kakareka (Royersford, Spring-Ford),
Ashley Bowers (Springfield, Springfield),
Lindsay Kupferschmidt (Royersford, Spring-Ford) and
Shelby Iezzi (Pottstown, Owen J. Roberts) all joined Samantha Mazzie as first team All-PSAC East selections while
Samantha King (Elkton, MD, North East) and
Tia Mazzie (Barto, Boyertown) earned second team honors.
Samantha Mazzie finished second on the team with 62 points, ranking third in both goals (42) and assists (20). In her first year in a Huskies uniform, Mazzie started all 19 games, scoring a point in all but three. Against East Stroudsburg in the PSAC quarterfinals, she tied a school record with 10 points, getting season-highs with six goals and four assists. Mazzie had 12 multi-goal games, scoring at least three goals nine times and had a four-game streak where she totaled 14 goals. The freshman scored 10 of her goals on free-position shots, was second on the team with 31 draw controls, had 46 ground balls and caused 15 turnovers.
This was Carr’s second straight PSAC East Coach of the Year after guiding the Huskies to a school record-tying 13 wins in 2010. This was the fourth straight PSAC postseason appearance for Carr, but the 19-15 victory over ESU, her alma mater, in the quarterfinals, was her first tournament win. Under her direction, the Huskies have improved every year, posting nine wins in each of her first two seasons and 12 last year. The 43 wins over the past four seasons are the most over that stretch in school history since the Huskies won 44 games from 2002-05. The 268 goals scored by Bloomsburg this season were just one short of the school record set in 2009.
Just a sophomore, Kakareka led the Huskies with 50 goals and 74 points and was second on the team with 24 assists. The Bloomsburg offense’s dominant force all season, Kakareka finished tied for seventh in the PSAC with 2.94 goals per game and was eighth with 4.35 points per game. Starting and scoring in all 17 of her games played, she scored at least four points 11 times, including seven three times and nine in a win at Millersville. Named the PSAC East Player of the Week twice, Kakareka had a dominant streak of five games where she totaled 22 goals and 33 points. Her clutch goal with six seconds left in overtime against Bentley on March 28 gave the Huskies a 14-13 win, a game in which she scored five goals. Kakareka has already scored 100 career points, hitting the mark on April 10 in a win at Millersville. In addition to her scoring, Kakareka totaled 50 ground balls and added 15 caused turnovers.
Bowers earned first team All-PSAC honors after being named to the second team in each of her first two collegiate seasons. A key defender for the Huskies, Bowers led the team with 33 draw controls, grabbed 45 ground balls and caused 16 turnovers. A 2008 All-American, Bowers helped Bloomsburg ranked fourth in the PSAC with a 9.37 goals against average, limiting opponents to seven goals or less 11 times.
Another sophomore, Kupferschmidt added to the Huskies defensive efforts in her first season as a starter as she totaled 47 ground balls, had 15 draw controls and added 12 caused turnovers. Not confined to just the defensive side of the field, Kupferschmidt made each one of her four shots this season count, scoring four goals, including two in a win at Millersville, and adding an assist.
Only a freshman, Iezzi turned in a spectacular performance in 2010 as the Huskies goalkeeper. Starting in 18 games and earning each of Bloomsburg’s 13 wins on the year, Iezzi ranked fifth in the PSAC with a .508 save percentage, posting 8.37 saves per game, good for seventh in the conference. Allowing seven goals or less 11 times, Iezzi saved a season-high 20 shots in a 13-5 victory at ESU, just three short of the single-game school mark.
King, last season’s freshman of the year, earned second team honors after getting a first team nod a year ago. Starting in 18 games, King finished second on the team with 46 goals, scoring in all but one contest. Notching 15 multi-goal games, she had a career-high six points in a win over Millersville and scored at least four goals four times. King also added 29 ground balls and had 26 draw controls.
Tia Mazzie, a junior, earned second team honors for the second straight year after scoring 41 points in 2010. Scoring 25 goals and assisting on 16 others, Mazzie had career-highs with five goals and seven points in an early season win over Millersville. Another career 100-point scorer on the Huskies roster, she hit the milestone in Bloomsburg’s quarterfinal win over ESU. Adding to her offensive numbers this season, Mazzie led the Huskies with 21 caused turnovers, was second with 52 ground balls and added 30 draw controls.