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June 15, 2005
Virginia lacrosse student-athlete Amy Appelt earned her second consecutive State Player of the Year Award, as announced by the Virginia Sports Information Directors’ Association earlier tonight. Appelt, a member of the 2005 USA World Cup Training Squad, was a finalist for the Honda Sports Award and the Tewaaraton Trophy for the second consecutive year as Virginia advanced to the NCAA title game for the third consecutive year. UVa head coach Julie Myers also repeated as the State Coach of the Year. Six Hoos were named to the first team: Appelt, Kim Connors, Ashley Dodson, Meredith Lazarus, Tyler Leachman, and Nikki Lieb. Three were second-team honorees: Cary Chasney, Elizabeth Pinney, and Molly Urlock.
Appelt earned her fourth All-American honor, including the last three as a first-team honoree. She graduated from Virginia ranked #5 on the all-time scoring list in Division I with 373 career points. Her 258 career goals ranks sixth all-time and her 115 career assists ranks tenth. She notched 57 goals and a career-high 35 assists in 2005, becoming the first person in school history to have four seasons of 50+ goals. Her 95 points is the fifth-highest single-season total in school history. She was named a Tewaaraton Trophy and a Honda Sports Award finalist for the second consecutive year. She is a member of the 2005 US World Cup Training Squad. She was named a consensus first-team All-American.
Connors ranked fifth on the Cavaliers in ground balls, caused turnovers, and draw controls, and she was a key part of the Virginia midfield that had a 73.5% clearing rate. One of her 29 draw controls came as the final draw control of the NCAA semifinal against Duke, in which she told her teammates she was winning the next draw in a tight 15-13 game, securing the win for the Hoos.
Dodson earned All-American honors from womenslacrosse.com after helping the Cavaliers to a top-20 ranking in scoring defense in 2005 and a return trip to the NCAA final game. She ranked third on the team in caused turnovers and fourth in ground balls.
Lazarus had an incredible return from a season-ending injury in 2004 this year. She led the team with 31 caused turnovers, ranked second on the team in ground balls and was fourth in draw controls.
Leachman earned her first All-American honor with a career-high 65 goals in 2005, which led Virginia and ranks third all-time in a single season. Her 82 points was second on the team and she now ranks eighth all-time at UVa for points in a season. She has a total of 174 career points with ranks ninth all-time at UVa and her 139 career goals ranks fifth all-time. She earned her first All-ACC honor this season as well and was a first-team All-American by insidelacrosse.com and womenslacrosse.com.
Lieb earned first-team honors for the second time in her career and is only a third-year. An All-ACC performer for her second consecutive year, Lieb was also a member of the NCAA All-Tournament team. Lieb led the Hoos with 44 draw controls, which ranks 10th in a single season in school history. She also led UVa with 61 ground balls and was second on the team with 26 caused turnovers. She was a consensus first-team All-American.
Chasney enjoyed an incredible return after a season-ending injury, scoring an NCAA final-game record six goals in the NCAA finals against Northwestern. She ranked third on the team with 47 goals and 64 points, giving her 211 in her career, which ranks fifth all-time at UVa.
Pinney and Urlock were both a part of the vaunted Virginia defense that ranked fourteenth in the nation in scoring defense. Pinney ranked seventh in ground balls and fourth in caused turnovers. A poised defender, she averaged less than a foul a game. Urlock ranked third in ground balls and her 14 draw controls ranked first among line defenders at Virginia.