EDISON, NJ (Apr. 24, 2026) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced the 2026 Women’s Lacrosse Major Award winners and All-MAAC Teams for the season, voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches.
Mount St. Mary’s sophomore attack, Brooke Molchanoff was named 2026 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year. Molchanoff, a native of Cicero, NY, has appeared and started in all 16 games for the Mountaineers this season, earning unanimous All-MAAC First team honors at the attack position. Her stat line in 2026 included 78 points, 58 goals and 20 assists, while adding four game-winning goals and 15 free position goals. Molchanoff’s recorded averages of 4.88 points, 3.63 goals, 1.25 assists, 7.19 shots, 5.31 shots on goal, a .504 shot percentage, and a .94 free position goals average. She led the MAAC in seven offensive statistical categories in the regular season, while posting exceptional rankings nationally in several categories. Molchanoff was the conference leader in goals, goals per game, points, points per game, shots, shots per game, and free position goals, while also ranking second in free position percentage, seventh in shot percentage and ninth in assists. On the national leaderboard, she was fifth in free position goals, seventh in goals, ninth in goals per game, 15
th in both points per game and shots on goal, and 16
th in points. Lastly, Molchanoff set the program record and was one of four players this season with nine goals in a single contest, achieving the feat against Lehigh on March 11, while also soring an eight goal game against Iona on April 4.
For the third season in a row, Sydney Huhtala of Niagara University was awarded with MAAC Defensive Player of the Year honors. One of the best defensive players in the country, Huhtala once again dominated the MAAC and ranked among the elite in the NCAA. On the season, she was responsible for scooping up 52 ground balls with an average of 3.25 per game and forcing 55 caused turnovers while averaging 3.44 in 16 outings, all tallies that led the MAAC. Nationally, Huhtala ranked fourth in total caused turnovers, fifth in caused turnovers per game, and ninth in both total ground balls and ground balls per game. She was the only player in league this year to have multiple games with six caused turnovers and multiple games with six ground balls, doing so three times each. Additionally, in 16 starts for the Purple Eagles, she won four draw controls and scored one goal for one point offensively. The senior was unanimously placed on the All-MAAC First Team this season, earning her third consecutive first team selection, while also having a second team and rookie team honor which she picked up during her first year in 2023.
Haley Burns from Fairfield University was selected as the 2026 MAAC Midfielder of the Year. The graduate student from Fallston, MD was a stat sheet stuffer for Fairfield in 2026, posting a statline of 29 goals, eight assists, 37 points, 53 shots, 36 shots on goal, three game-winning goals, five free position goals, 30 ground balls, 35 caused turnovers, and 29 draw controls. Burns outstanding season resulted in her first career All-MAAC First Team selection. She ranked second in the league in caused turnovers and caused turnovers per game (2.19), was the only other player in the MAAC with an average above 2.00 in the category besides Huhtala and was fourth-best in the conference with a .547 shot percentage. Moreover, Burns ranked 25
th in the nation in both caused turnovers per game and shot percentage.
The 2026 MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year was Siena University’s sophomore McAllister Salter. Salter made 16 appearances and starts in the net for the Saints this season, going 10-5 overall and 5-2 in the MAAC. In 866:38 minutes in goal, she made 92 saves, had a goal against average of 8.10, and a save percentage of .440, while also picking up 40 ground balls. Salter had the lowest goals against average in the MAAC, ranked fourth in save percentage, fifth in ground balls per game, and ninth in both saves and saves per game.
Unanimously winning the 2026 MAAC Rookie of the Year award was Ella Forcucci of Canisius University. Hailing from Orchard Park, NY, Forcucci was named to the All-MAAC First Team and All-Rookie Team this season, being the only freshman to be named to both all-conference squads. The attacker made 12 starts with 16 appearances, scoring 51 goals and 16 assists for 67 points, setting Canisius’ program record for points and goals by a freshman, while also ranking eighth all-time in goals in a season by a Golden Griffin. Forcucci is the highest scoring freshman in the nation, averaging 3.19 goals per game, and she is second in the MAAC in goals and goals per game, and fourth in points and points per game. She also logged 99 shots with 76 shots on goal, and on the defensive side recorded 17 ground balls, 10 caused turnovers, and won 24 draw controls. Forcucci ranked second in shots on goal per game, fourth in shots per game, and sixth in shot percentage. Finally, Forcucci dominated MAAC weekly honors, collecting a league-most nine combined MAAC weekly awards which included earning both Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week in the same week twice this season.
Fairfield’s Laura Field was named 2026 MAAC Coach of the Year. The 11-year vet, who is also the winningest coach in Fairfield history, guided the Stags to a regular season mark of 13-3 overall and 8-0 in the MAAC, claiming the 2026 MAAC Regular Season Championship. The regular season trophy was Fairfield's fourth consecutive and the 17th in program history dating back to 1999. Field has been at the helm for seven of the titles as head coach in addition to five as an assistant coach with the Stags. This marks the third time in her career that Field was been voted amongst her peers as MAAC Coach of the Year, also garnering the award in 2023 and 2024 previously. Under her leadership, Fairfield has witnessed its most successful stretch in women's lacrosse history, winning six MAAC Championships, seven MAAC Regular Season Championships, and making seven consecutive NCAA postseason berths dating back to 2018, which included the first-ever at-large selection in women’s lacrosse history for both Fairfield and the MAAC back in 2024.
The full list of All-MAAC Teams and major awards winners are below.
| 2026 Women’s Lacrosse Major Awards |
| Awards |
Player |
School |
| Offensive Player of the Year |
Brooke Molchanoff |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Defensive Player of the Year |
Sydney Huhtala |
Niagara |
| Midfielder of the Year |
Haley Burns |
Fairfield |
| Goalkeeper of the Year |
McAllister Salter |
Siena |
| Rookie of the Year |
Ella Forcucci* |
Canisius |
| Coach of the Year |
Laura Field |
Fairfield |
| All-MAAC First Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Ella Forcucci |
Fr. |
Attack |
Canisius |
| Tessa Caputo |
So. |
Attack |
Fairfield |
| Kelly Haggerty |
Jr. |
Attack |
Fairfield |
| Brooke Molchanoff* |
So. |
Attack |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Cate Bendowski |
Sr. |
Attack |
Quinnipiac |
| Haley Burns |
Gr. |
Midfield |
Fairfield |
| Shannon McTavish |
Jr. |
Midfield |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Maddy Gill |
Sr. |
Midfield |
Niagara |
| Emma Miller-Ayala |
So. |
Midfield |
Quinnipiac |
| Katherine Shammas |
Sr. |
Defense |
Fairfield |
| Hailey Chester |
Sr. |
Defense |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Sydney Huhtala* |
Sr. |
Defense |
Niagara |
| Brooke Gyllenhaal |
Sr. |
Defense |
Sacred Heart |
| Mia Juvelier |
Jr. |
At-Large/Specialist |
Merrimack |
| McAllister Salter |
So. |
Goalkeeper |
Siena |
| All-MAAC Second Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Megan Previdi |
Jr. |
Attack |
Canisius |
| MK Allingham |
Sr. |
Attack |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Michaela Delles |
So. |
Attack |
Niagara |
| Mia Delmond |
Sr. |
Attack |
Quinnipiac |
| Maddie Fitzgerald |
Jr. |
Midfield |
Canisius |
| Ella Brunette |
Fr. |
Midfield |
Manhattan |
| Amelia Pirozzi |
So. |
Midfield |
Marist |
| Julia Givens |
Sr. |
Midfield |
Quinnipiac |
| Elizabeth Wamp |
Jr. |
Midfield |
Siena |
| Harper Weatherdon |
Jr. |
Defense |
Canisius |
| Taija Bell |
So. |
Defense |
Marist |
| Madelyn Breitbeil |
Jr. |
Defense |
Sacred Heart |
| Faye Gorman |
So. |
Defense |
Siena |
| Brynn Donnelly |
Sr. |
At-Large/Specialist |
Fairfield |
| Haley Terry |
So. |
Goalkeeper |
Niagara |
| MAAC All-Rookie Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Ella Forcucci |
Fr. |
Attack |
Canisius |
| Lila Berkery |
Fr. |
Midfield/Defense |
Fairfield |
| Ella Brunette |
Fr. |
Midfield |
Manhattan |
| Lyle Brown |
Fr. |
Defense |
Marist |
| Haylee Bittinger |
Fr. |
Attack |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Ava Kraszewski |
Fr. |
Midfield |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Brie Provenzano |
FY. |
Attack |
Quinnipiac |
| Madalynn Eder-Linell |
FY. |
Goalkeeper |
Sacred Heart |
| Hailey Deptula |
Fr. |
Midfield |
Siena |
*Denote Unanimous Selection
The 2026 MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship is a six-team, single-elimination championship taking place April 26 - May 3, 2026. The first round will be hosted by the #3 and #4 seeds, and the semifinals and championship will be hosted by the top overall seed. For all information regarding the 2026 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship, please visit
maacsports.com/wlax.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 13 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 45th year of competition during the 2025-26 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan University, Marist University, Merrimack College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Sacred Heart University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena University.
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