WASHINGTON – Regular season champion Richmond collected three of the six major women’s lacrosse awards, announced by the league on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s opening round of the A-10 Women’s Lacrosse Championship. St. Bonaventure tallied two superlative awards as well, and George Washington rounded out the list.
The Atlantic 10 released the five superlative awards along with the 24 All-Conference honorees, as well as he All-Rookie and All-Academic teams. The major honors, All-Conference teams, and All-Rookie team were voted on by the A-10 women’s lacrosse head coaches while the All-Academic team was selected by the women’s lacrosse communications directors.
Richmond senior Alexis Morton was named Offensive Player of the Year, while her junior teammate Abby Francioli was named Goalkeeper of the Year. St. Bonaventure senior Brit Colangelo was named Defensive Player of the Year as fellow Bonnies senior Brooke Piper received Midfielder of the Year honors. Richmond head coach Anne Harrington earned the Coach of the Year award and George Washington freshman Mia Milkowski was named Rookie of the Year.
Morton, an attacker from Manhasset, N.Y., paced the Spiders offensively – leading the Atlantic 10 with 6.00 points per game this season. Morton ranked third in the league with 3.50 goals per game and second with 2.50 assists per game, making a mark as both a scorer and facilitator. A three-time A-10 Offensive Player of the Week, Morton led the league with 4.33 goals per contest during conference play, racking up a season-best 11 points in Richmond’s win over VCU.
Colangelo anchored the Bonnies’ defensively the entire season, disrupting opposing offenses with her speed and anticipation. The defender from Scarborough, Ontario led the A-10 by causing 2.35 turnovers per game, ranking second in the league in ground balls per game as well (2.53). Colangelo recorded four caused turnovers three times, including a strong performance in the team’s regular season finale win over George Washington.
While Colangelo led the Bonnies defense, Piper carried the largest load offensively. The midfielder from Aurora, Ontario ranked second in the A-10 in goals per game (3.53), fourth in shots per game (6.53), and sixth in points (4.06). She also contributed in the draw circle, winning 3.59 draw controls per contest. A three-time A-10 Offensive Player of the Week, Piper put together one of the strongest performances in Bonnies history during the team’s 19-9 road victory at la Salle, scoring nine goals – breaking the program’s single-game record in the process.
Starting every game in net for Richmond, Francioli helped Richmond limit opponents to a league-best 8.12 goals per game. Among starting goalies, Francioli led the league with a .483 save percentage -- .603 in conference play – making 6.06 saves per game over the entire season. The Bethesda, Md. native fared well against some of the nation’s top competition, including a 10-save game to help the Spiders upset No. 12 Virginia 12-11.
Milkowski took the conference by storm in her first year, contributing greatly to George Washington reaching its best conference record since 2023. The attacker from Rumson, N.J. led the team with 30 assists, ranking third on the Revolutionaries in goals as well (33). Winning a league-best four A-10 Rookie of the Week accolades, Milkowski produced a season-best seven points on three occasions, achieving the feat in wins over Howard, American and Duquesne.
Harrington led the Spiders to their first outright regular season champion since the program’s inception in 1983, fishing the regular season with a 13-3 overall record and perfect 9-0 mark in league play. The Spiders lived up expectations after being picked as the A-10 preseason favorite, reaching the national top-25 rankings at multiple points in the year. Nationally, the Spiders rank fourth in scoring margin (7.44), fifth in scoring offense (15.56), third in draw control percentage (0.640), third in shot percentage (0.503), and eighth in win percentage (0.813).