Leite Headlines First IWLS All-Conference Awards
GEORGETOWN, Texas – Six members of the University of Dallas women's lacrosse team received all-conference honors for the Independent Women's Lacrosse School (IWLS). Headlining the sextet was Lexi Leite (Houston, Texas) on All-IWLS First Team. Frances Davis (Heber City, Utah) and Lizz Winkler (St. Charles, Ill.) was named All-IWLS Second Team. A trio rounded out the list for honorable mention were: Erika Keever (Fort Worth, Texas), Gwen Mohler (San Francisco, Calif.), and Julia Shinkle (Ewing, N.J.). All players were big contributors in the first season for Head Coach Destinee Johnson.
Leite paced the offense for the Crusaders, leading the team for the second year in a row in scoring and points. The sophomore poured 47 goals and dished 10 assists for 57 points. She scored in 14-of-15 games played this season and had a point in every match. The attack had 10 matches with a hat trick. Leite was among the top three in most categories. She shot 78 percent (71-91) on cage, won 24 draws (2nd on team), and was second in goals on free positions with nine.
Davis secured a spot on the second team and was a leader on the defensive side of the ball for Dallas. Davis garnered 21 ground balls and 11 caused turnovers. The defender contributed on offense in a couple of contests, scoring her first collegiate points in her sophomore season. This included a pair of goals in a record tying 21 goals versus Carroll University on March 16.
Winkler debuted her first season at the collegiate level in the goalkeeper spot of the field. She notched 130 saves and played 752:48 minutes between the pipes. Winkler collected a team-high 36 groundballs. Winkler also became the program's first player to receive IWLS Player of the Week for the week ending March 5, 2017.
Three other players for the Crusaders received All-IWLS Honorable Mention.
Keever broke out for a career season in her sophomore campaign. The team's second highest scorer delivered 27 goals and had at least one in 13 matches. Keever also followed Leite in points with 31. She did lead the squad in draw controls with 25 and free position goals with 10.
Mohler capped her third year in a row to letter with her best performance yet. The senior boasted career-highs in goals (15) and assists (13). Her total amount of helpers set the program record and she rounded out the top four scorers on the team as the final one to eclipse double-digits. Mohler picked up 15 groundballs and had eight draws.
Shinkle is the final player to be named on an All-IWLS Team. Shinkle played attack in her first season, and the third year player responded with personal-highs in goals (18) and points (20). Those netters counted as her first ones toward her career, and her lone point prior was in the spring of 2015 on an assist. Shinkle sank six goals in the team's record-tying 21-goal game versus Carroll mentioned earlier. The junior was pesky on defense as well, causing 13 turnovers for second highest on the team.
This was the inaugural spring for the IWLS to recognize postseason awards. Dallas is one-of-nine programs part of the IWLS. Fellow Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) foes Colorado College and Southwestern University are also members. Rounding out the rest of the bunch are: Dean College, D'Youville College, Franciscan University, Northland College, University of Northwestern-St. Paul, and State University of New York-Canton.