University of New Hampshire Athletics
5/4/2021 5:28:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
BOSTON – Senior Tatum Benesh (Horseheads, N.Y.) was named to the America East All-Conference First Team to highlight a total of four conference awards received by the University of New Hampshire women's lacrosse team on Wednesday.
Graduate student Rylee Leonard (Coventry, R.I.) and senior Julia Neyland (Boxborough, Mass.) were All-Conference Second Team honorees, and Leonard was also voted to the All-Academic Team.
Benesh started all 10 games she played to anchor UNH's defensive unit. She ranked second on the team in both ground balls (23) and caused turnovers (16). With those numbers, Benesh ranked second in America East in caused turnovers per game (1.60) and seventh in ground balls per game (2.30).
Those averages increased to 1.75 caused turnovers and 2.50 ground balls per game in conference-only games.
Benesh recorded at least one ground ball in 9 of 10 games with eight multiple ground ball games, and that included a career high of six GBs in the regular-season finale against the University of Hartford. The senior captain was credited with a caused turnover in 7 of 10 games with four multi-CTO efforts, and she tallied a personal best of four caused turnovers each of the last two games against nationally-ranked Stony Brook University and then Hartford.
UNH's previous three First Team selections were also defenders -- Cat Sennott in 2018, Hope Kissick in '17 and Jaime DePetris in '14.
Leonard, who was one of three Wildcats to start all 11 games, led the team in assists (11), ranked second in points (25) and third in goals (14). The captain also ranked second in draw controls (18) and third in shots (39). On the conference leaderboard, Leonard tied for seventh in assists per game (1.00).
The midfielder recorded a point every game to end her career with a 27-game point streak. She scored a goal in 9 of 11 games with four multiple-goal efforts, including a high of three at UMass Lowell. Leonard tallied an assist in 7 of 11 games and finished with multiple assists three times, and that included tying her career high of three at UAlbany. Leonard had seven multi-point games with a high of four against both UAlbany (1g , 3a) and at Hartford (2g, 2a).
Leonard's other season highlights included scoring her 50th career goal at UMass Lowell and scoring the overtime game-winning goal against UMBC. She finished that game vs. the Retrievers with nine draw controls, which is the highest total by a 'Cat in a decade.
Leonard has also excelled in the classroom, where she recorded a 3.83 cumulative GPA while earning a bachelor's degree in Communication Sciences & Disorders and has a 3.94 GPA while pursuing an MBA.
Leonard was selected to both the All-Conference Second Team and All-Academic Team in 2019; she was a medical redshirt last season. Leonard is the seventh Wildcat named to the Second Team multiple times and the 11th 'Cat voted to multiple All-Academic Teams.
Neyland, with 10 starts in 10 games played, finished atop UNH's leaderboard in both goals (27) and points (35), as well as shots (77). The attacker also ranked second in assists with eight. On the America East leaderboard, Neyland ranked eighth in goals per game (2.70), ninth in points per game (3.50) and third in shots per game (7.70).
Neyland's production was higher against conference opponents with averages of 3.0 goals and 3.75 points per game in eight America East contests.
Neyland ended the 2021 season – and her career – with an eight-game streak in both goals and points. She scored a goal in 9 of 10 games with seven multiple-goal efforts and Neyland tallied multiple points nine times.
Neyland scored a career-high six goals for a personal best of six points against UMBC; the last of those tallies was her 50th career goal and sent the game into overtime. In the next game – albeit nearly a month later – she scored five goals for five points (all in the second half) at Hartford. Neyland matched her career high of two assists in consecutive games against Binghamton University and the University of Vermont.
New Hampshire finished the 2021 season with a 4-7 overall record that included 3-6 in America East.
Graduate student Rylee Leonard (Coventry, R.I.) and senior Julia Neyland (Boxborough, Mass.) were All-Conference Second Team honorees, and Leonard was also voted to the All-Academic Team.
Benesh started all 10 games she played to anchor UNH's defensive unit. She ranked second on the team in both ground balls (23) and caused turnovers (16). With those numbers, Benesh ranked second in America East in caused turnovers per game (1.60) and seventh in ground balls per game (2.30).
Those averages increased to 1.75 caused turnovers and 2.50 ground balls per game in conference-only games.
Benesh recorded at least one ground ball in 9 of 10 games with eight multiple ground ball games, and that included a career high of six GBs in the regular-season finale against the University of Hartford. The senior captain was credited with a caused turnover in 7 of 10 games with four multi-CTO efforts, and she tallied a personal best of four caused turnovers each of the last two games against nationally-ranked Stony Brook University and then Hartford.
UNH's previous three First Team selections were also defenders -- Cat Sennott in 2018, Hope Kissick in '17 and Jaime DePetris in '14.
Leonard, who was one of three Wildcats to start all 11 games, led the team in assists (11), ranked second in points (25) and third in goals (14). The captain also ranked second in draw controls (18) and third in shots (39). On the conference leaderboard, Leonard tied for seventh in assists per game (1.00).
The midfielder recorded a point every game to end her career with a 27-game point streak. She scored a goal in 9 of 11 games with four multiple-goal efforts, including a high of three at UMass Lowell. Leonard tallied an assist in 7 of 11 games and finished with multiple assists three times, and that included tying her career high of three at UAlbany. Leonard had seven multi-point games with a high of four against both UAlbany (1g , 3a) and at Hartford (2g, 2a).
Leonard's other season highlights included scoring her 50th career goal at UMass Lowell and scoring the overtime game-winning goal against UMBC. She finished that game vs. the Retrievers with nine draw controls, which is the highest total by a 'Cat in a decade.
Leonard has also excelled in the classroom, where she recorded a 3.83 cumulative GPA while earning a bachelor's degree in Communication Sciences & Disorders and has a 3.94 GPA while pursuing an MBA.
Leonard was selected to both the All-Conference Second Team and All-Academic Team in 2019; she was a medical redshirt last season. Leonard is the seventh Wildcat named to the Second Team multiple times and the 11th 'Cat voted to multiple All-Academic Teams.
Neyland, with 10 starts in 10 games played, finished atop UNH's leaderboard in both goals (27) and points (35), as well as shots (77). The attacker also ranked second in assists with eight. On the America East leaderboard, Neyland ranked eighth in goals per game (2.70), ninth in points per game (3.50) and third in shots per game (7.70).
Neyland's production was higher against conference opponents with averages of 3.0 goals and 3.75 points per game in eight America East contests.
Neyland ended the 2021 season – and her career – with an eight-game streak in both goals and points. She scored a goal in 9 of 10 games with seven multiple-goal efforts and Neyland tallied multiple points nine times.
Neyland scored a career-high six goals for a personal best of six points against UMBC; the last of those tallies was her 50th career goal and sent the game into overtime. In the next game – albeit nearly a month later – she scored five goals for five points (all in the second half) at Hartford. Neyland matched her career high of two assists in consecutive games against Binghamton University and the University of Vermont.
New Hampshire finished the 2021 season with a 4-7 overall record that included 3-6 in America East.
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, April 07
Saturday, March 28
Saturday, April 19
Monday, March 31