Pair of Spiders Take Home A-10 Lacrosse Major Awards, Five Others Earn Nods

Newport News, Va.— The Atlantic 10 released its major end-of-year awards and All-Conference teams Wednesday, with seven Spiders earning honors from the conference. During the regular season, the Spiders went 14-3 with an 8-1 conference record—its best since the 2019 season when it won three-straight Atlantic-10 tournament games and advanced all the way to the NCAA tournament.

Brittney Wright took home her second-consecutive Defensive Player of the Year honor while Sophia DiCenso was named Midfielder Year. Richmond is the conference's only member to have multiple major award winners.

Both Wright and DiCenso were named to the league's First Team along with Lindsey Frank, while Arden Tierney earned Second Team recognition and a spot on the league's All-Academic Team.

A trio of Richmond newcomers were named to the All-Rookie Team with Colleen Quinn, Hannah Custer and Grace Muldoon earning nods.

Brittney Wright, 2022 Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year

Wright defended her 2021 Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year honor with starts in all 16 games she played in, missing just one start/game due to injury. Richmond's defensive leader and team captain, the graduate student spent her final year with the Spiders consistently marking-up on opposing teams' offensive leaders while limiting their output.
Most Notably, Wright held Stanford's Ashley Humphrey to two points (2 assists) while she averaged 6.33 points per game and had 64 assists on the season while ranking first in the country in assists per game. She held A-10 Offensive Player of the Year, Saint Joseph's Lauren Figura, to two goals while she leads the conference in goals per game with 3.41. She held Davidson's Erin Cooke to just one goal and one assist. Cooke is Davidson's points leader (66) and ranks first in the conference in assists (36) and points per game (4.12).
Wright earned USA Lacrosse Magazine NCAA Division I Preseason All-America Third Team honors in December and was named an Inside Lacrosse NCAA Division I Preseason All-American Honorable Mention and Inside Lacrosse's preseason A-10 Defensive Player of the Year in January. She was also named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week for April 4 after standout performances against Duquesne and Saint Joseph's.
Wright's play and leadership has led Richmond to a No. 14 national ranking in scoring defense.

Sophia DiCenso, 2022 Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year

DiCenso started every game at midfield as is a staple within the Richmond transition/fast break game. She contributes heavily on both ends of the field, ranking third on team in goals, fourth in points and leads the team in ground balls (29) and caused turnovers (14).
Equally as dangerous on offense as she is on defense, DiCenso is a key part of Richmond's No. 1 A-10 ranking in assists, No. 2 ranking in points per game and No. 4 national ranking in assists per game.
The junior is having a standout season that's seen her tie or set new single-game career highs in five different stat areas including goals (4 vs. Saint Joseph's), assists (2 vs. George Mason), points (5, 2x, vs. Saint Joseph's and George Mason), shots (8 vs. George Washington) and ground balls (6 vs. James Madison).
This is the first major award of DiCenso's career.

Lindsey Frank, All-Conference First-Team, Attack

Richmond's goals leader with 47, the junior ranks No. 1 in goals per game and No. 1 in points per game in conference play. Overall, Frank is No. 2 in goals and No. 4 in points per game (4) in the conference. She leads Richmond's attackers in ground balls (17), caused turnovers (7) and free position shots (20). She has been a key part of Richmond's No. 4 national ranking in assists with 21 and has also picked up the same number in draw controls to help Richmond to a No. 1 ranking in the conference in draw control percentage.

Arden Tierney, All-Conference Second-Team, Attack | All-Academic Team

As Richmond's offensive leader, Tierney is the conference's overall leader in points per game (4.12), No. 2 in assists (32) and No. 2 in draw controls (96). In conference play, Tierney has led Richmond to be the overall leader in assists and draw control percentage as well as No. 2 in points per game. Individually, Tierney ranks nationally in the top-15 in assists and top-30 in draw controls per game. Through her leadership, the draw unit is ranked 18th nationally in draw control percentage and the offense ranks fourth nationally in assists per game. The junior from Port Washington, N.Y. couples her on-field talent with academic success, holding a 3.98 in business administration with a concentration in marketing.

Colleen Quinn, Hannah Custer, Grace Muldoon, All-Rookie Team

During her freshman campaign, Colleen Quinn has started all but one regular season game on attack and has recorded a point in 15 of 17 games, with multiple points in 13 of those. She notched a conference-high seven points against Davidson and ranks third on the team in points (32) and goals (24). She's No. 4 in the A-10 in assists per game and eighth in points per game. A key part of Richmond's No. 1 conference ranking in assists per game, No. 2 in points per game and No. 4 national ranking in assists per game, the Summit, N.J. product ranks fourth in the A-10 in assists per game and eighth in points per game.

Grace Muldoon has played significant minutes in every game as part of the second midfield line while ranking fifth on the team in points with a balanced 16 goals and 16 assists. She's had a point in all but three games and has helped the Richmond offense to a No. 4 national ranking in assists per game and No. 1 in conference. Muldoon chipped in 17 draw controls as part of a unit that ranks 18th nationally in draw control percentage and first in the A-10.

Hannah Custer has started all but one regular season game in the midfield and has contributed significantly on the defensive end through her one-on-one matchups. Most notably, Custer locked-up James Madison's Isabella Peterson, limiting her to 3 goals— her second lowest output of the season. Peterson is ranked seventh nationally in goals and ninth nationally in goals per game. Additionally, Custer has chipped in a point in 13 of her 17 games played.

The Spiders head into the Atlantic 10 tournament this week as the No. 2 seed, facing off against the winner of No. 3 Saint Joseph's and No. 6 George Washington on Friday at 2 p.m. at Garber Field on UMass' campus.

Atlantic 10 Major Award Winners

Offensive Player of the Year: Lauren Figura, Saint Joseph's
Defensive Player of the Year: Brittney Wright, Richmond
Midfielder of the Year: Sophia DiCenso, Richmond
Rookie of the Year: Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw, Duquesne
Coach of the Year: Angela McMahon-Serpone, Massachusetts

All-Conference First Team

Attack
Erin Cooke, Davidson
Marra Kelly, Massachusetts
Lindsey Frank, Richmond
Lauren Figura, Saint Joseph's
Midfield
Alana Piano, Duquesne
Emily Johnston, La Salle
Olivia Muscella, Massachusetts
Sophia DiCenso, Richmond
Defense
Noelle Cegielski, Davidson
Brinley Anderson, Massachusetts
Brittney Wright, Richmond
Goalkeeper
Amanda Monahan, Davidson

All-Conference Second Team

Attack
Gianna New, Davidson
Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw, Duquesne
Kendra Harbinger, Massachusetts
Arden Tierney, Richmond
Midfield
Emma Johnson, Davidson
Riley Evans, Saint Joseph's
Sophia Kolkka, Saint Joseph's
Defense
Maggie Flynn, Duquesne
Kaitlin Rice, Duquesne
Courtney Barrett, Massachusetts
Hannah Heller, Massachusetts
Goalkeeper
Jorden Concordia, Saint Joseph's

All-Rookie Team

Riley Moore, Davidson
Sam King, Duquesne
Mackenzie Leszczynski, Duquesne
Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw, Duquesne
Katie Hipp, George Washington
Jordan Dean, Massachusetts
Hannah Custer, Richmond
Grace Muldoon, Richmond
Colleen Quinn, Richmond
Fiona McGovern, St. Bonaventure
Jorden Concordia, Saint Joseph's
Maddie Yoder, Saint Joseph's

All-Academic Team

Lauren Arkell, Davidson
Alana Piano, Duquesne
Kaitlin Rice, Duquesne
Megan Patrick, George Washington
Sophia Watkinson, George Washington
Gina Carroll, Massachusetts
Haley Connaughton, Massachusetts
Kendra Harbinger, Massachusetts
Marra Kelly, Massachusetts
Arden Tierney, Richmond
Nora Anderson, St. Bonaventure
Lauren Figura, Saint Joseph's

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