Women's Lacrosse | 5/5/2026 11:59:24 AM
Empire 8 Champion St. John Fisher University earned four major individual awards, as the Empire 8 Conference announced its 2026 Women’s Lacrosse All-Conference awards on Tuesday, May 5. The awards are voted on by the league's head coaches.
St. John Fisher University senior junior Maddie Lowney was named Defensive Player of the Year for the third straight season, while junior Ellie Leisen was named the E8 Offensive Player of the Year. Fellow St. John Fisher senior Kaley Griffin garnered E8 Midfielder of the Yeat honors, while the St. John Fisher coaching staff, led by head coach Marykate Edmunds was named E8 Coaching Staff of the Year. SUNY Brockport junior Arianna Reed was named Goalkeeper of the Year and Hartwick College attack Adelyn Esce was named the E8 Rookie of the Year.
Lowney, who was previously the 2023 Empire 8 Rookie of the Year and 2024 and 2025 Defensive Player of the Year, has enjoyed a tremendous senior season for the Cardinals with 65 ground balls, 76 draw controls and a league-high 63 caused turnovers. She is a key component of the St. John Fisher defensive unit that allowed just 27 goals in nine Empire 8 regular season contests. Lowney, the 2026 Empire 8 Championship Tournament Most Valuable Player, is the Empire 8’s all-time leader with 166 caused turnovers. Lowney is the first three-time Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year since the award was implemented in 2019.
Leisen has enjoyed a career year for the Cardinals in 2026, leading the league in scoring with 87 points on 49 goals and 38 assists. She has averaged 2.00 assists and 4.58 points per game for St. John Fisher. She tallied 34 goals and 24 assists for 58 points in nine E8 regular season games in 2026. Leisen, a native of Massapequa, NY, has recorded at least five points in a game 11 times this season and recorded a career-high 10 points against Hartwick on April 25.
Griffin, a native of Penn Yan, NY, has done it all for the Cardinals in 2026, tallying 47 points on 36 goals and 11 assists, while recording 72 caused turnovers. She enters the NCAA Tournament with 131 career goals and 169 points to go along with 153 draw controls.
Reed appeared in all 18 games for SUNY Brockport in 2026, recording an 8.12 goals against average and a .485 save percentage. She lowered her goals against average to 5.63 with a .514 save percentage in E8 play. She made at least 10 saves in a game three times this season.
Esce appeared in all 17 games for the Hawks this season, finishing with 49 points on 22 goals and 27 assists to go along with 43 draw controls. She had 31 points (12 goals and 19 assists) and 28 draw controls in nine league games. Esce recorded at least four points in a game six times in 2026.
Edmunds and her staff of assistant coaches Logan Chase, Alexis Bower and Cassidy King led the Cardinals to a 9-0 record in regular season league play and their 14th straight Empire 8 title in 2026. It is the first honor for Edmunds in her first season as head coach with the Cardinals and sixth straight season that St. John Fisher has earned E8 Coaching Staff of the Year honors. St. John Fisher is 15-4 overall this season entering NCAA Tournament play.
Four different teams had student-athletes earn first team accolades. St. John Fisher led the way with six selections on the first team and a league-best 12 all-conference selections in total. Three of the 14 E8 first team members were repeat selections. Lowney garnered her fourth All-E8 first team honor, while defenders Christine Ross of SUNY Brockport and Grace Geary of SUNY Geneseo were repeat first team selections and Kaley Griffin earned her second first team accolade (2024).
One member of each team was named that institution's representative on the 2025-26 Women’s Lacrosse Tomorrow’s Leaders Team. This team honors a student-athlete who has emerged as a leader not only on the field of play, but in the classroom and in the community. In addition, they “compete with honor and integrity” and have distinguished themselves and consistently exhibit the critical traits as outstanding sportswomen.
“Developing character and integrity is a hallmark of the Empire 8,” said E8 Executive Director
Chuck Mitrano. “This series is proof that Empire 8 and our member institutions are committed to intercollegiate athletics’ important role in higher education.”
2026 Empire 8 Women’s Lacrosse All-Conference Selections
Offensive Player of the Year: Ellie Leisen, Jr., A, St. John Fisher
Midfielder of the Year: Kaley Griffin, Sr., M, St. John Fisher
Defensive Player of the Year: Maddie Lowney, Sr., D, St. John Fisher
Goalkeeper of the Year: Arianna Reed, Jr., GK, SUNY Brockport
Rookie of the Year: Adelyn Esce, Fr., A, Hartwick
Coaching Staff of the Year: St. John Fisher, led by Head Coach Marykate Edmunds
Empire 8 First Team
Hailey Lewkovich, Sr., A, SUNY Brockport (Wading River, NY/Shoreham-Wading River)
Natalie Long, Jr., A, SUNY Geneseo (Auburn, NY/Auburn)
Rosemary Mahoney, So., A, SUNY Geneseo (Syracuse, NY/Westhill)
Ellie Leisen, Jr., A, St. John Fisher (Massapequa, NY/Massapequa)
Chelsea Lopata, Jr., A, St. John Fisher (Clinton, NY/Clinton)
Katie Rajkowski, Jr., M, SUNY Geneseo (Cazenovia, NY/Cazenovia)
Kaley Griffin, Sr., M, St. John Fisher (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan Academy)
Chelsea Mesick, So., M, John Fisher (Albany, NY/Colonie)
Maria Stuhlman, Jr., M, Utica (Whitesboro, NY/Whitesboro)
Christina Ross, Jr., D, SUNY Brockport (Waterloo, NY/Waterloo)
Grace Geary, Jr, D, SUNY Geneseo (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool)
Maddie Lowney, Sr., D, St. John Fisher (Baldwin, MD/McDonogh)
Paige Miller, Sr., D, St. John Fisher (Altamont, NY/Guilderland)
Arianna Reed, Jr., GK, SUNY Brockport (LaFayette, NY/East Syracuse-Minoa)
Empire 8 Second Team
Karaline McCarthy, So., A, SUNY Brockport (Scotia, NY/Scotia-Glenville)
Adelyn Esce, Fr., A, Hartwick (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse)
Dharma Makarowsky, Sr., A, St. John Fisher (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna)
Megan McGrath, Sr., A, St. John Fisher (Millsboro, DE/Mount Olive)
Alyssa Specchio, So., A, Utica (Chenango Forks, NY/Chenango Forks)
Grace Reyna, Jr., M, SUNY Geneseo (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius)
Jammie Decker, Sr., M, Hartwick (Penn Yan, NY/Penn Yan Academy)
Grace Gardner, Sr., M, Nazareth (Goshen, NY/Goshen)
Athena Lazina, So., M, St. John Fisher (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley)
Jess Andrews, So., D, St. John Fisher (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy)
Caitlin Mulvihill, Fr., D, SUNY Brockport (Yorktown Heights, NY/Yorktown)
Allison Dodge, So., D, SUNY Geneseo (Victor, NY/Victor)
Violet Piccinini., Jr., D, SUNY Geneseo (Bethlehem, NY/Bethlehem)
Leah Hilton, Jr., D, St. John Fisher (Utica, NY/New Hartford)
Maggie Cross, Jr., GK, St. John Fisher (Canandaigua, NY/Canandaigua Academy)
Empire 8 Third Team
Parker Laurin, So., A, Hartwick (Saratoga Springs, NY/Saratoga Springs)
Lily Dempsey, So., A, Hartwick (Glenville, NY/Scotia-Glenville)
Gwen Newtown, Jr., A, Nazareth (Ontario, NY/Webster Thomas)
Gianna Geraci, Jr., A, Russell Sage (Averill Park, NY/Averill Park)
Jessica Marciano, Sr., A, Utica (Churchville, NY/Churchville-Chili)
Sydney Angelo, So., M, Alfred (Windsor, NY/Windsor Central)
Lila Warner, Jr., M, SUNY Geneseo (Victor, NY/Victor)
Alexis Alteri, Sr., M, Utica (Clinton, NY/Clinton)
Gabby Fitzgerald, Fr., D, Hartwick (Bellemore, NY/W.C. Meopham)
Emma Bossard, Sr., D, Nazareth (Geneva, NY/Geneva)
Addison Daggett, So., D, SUNY Geneseo (Bethlehem, NY/Bethlehem)
Regan Kelly, Sr., D, Hartwick (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley)
Ella Stanton, Sr., D, Utica (Macedon, NY/Palmyra-Macedon)
Makayla Purdy, Jr., GK, Utica (Shirley, NY/William Floyd)
Empire 8 Tomorrow’s Leaders Team
Cassidy Primrose, Jr., D, Alfred (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker)
Maura Langdon, Jr., M, SUNY Brockport (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park)
Lucia Sanchez, Sr., D/M, SUNY Geneseo (Lewiston, NY/Lewiston-Porter)
Regan Kelly, Sr., D, Hartwick (Warwick, NY/Warwick Valley)
Liz Spin, Sr., M, Keuka (Auburn, NY/Auburn)
Allie Klestinec, Sr., GK, Nazareth (Geneva, NY/Geneva)
Makenzie Pierce, Sr., A, SUNY Poly (Oneonta, NY/Oneonta)
Keegan Long, So., A/GK, Russell Sage (Gansevoort, NY/Schuylerville)
Chelsea Mesick, So., M, John Fisher (Albany, NY/Colonie)
Vanessa Leon, Jr., D, Utica (Riverhead, NY/Riverhead)