NIAGARA UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — Niagara senior midfielder Hailey D’Hont and senior attacks Caroline Crump and Rachel MacCheyne were named captains of the 2019 women’s lacrosse team, head coach Wendy Stone announced on Monday.
“Caroline, Hailey and Rachel were elected by their teammates and the coaching staff and represent the best of Niagara lacrosse,” Stone said. “Collectively, they embody a team-first mentality and raise the level of competitiveness every day at practice. Each one brings something different to the table in terms of leadership styles, which makes them an effective unit both on and off the field.”
After a 47-goal season and a selection to the All-MAAC Attack Second Team, Crump returns for her senior year as a first-time captain. The native of Kingston, New York had hat tricks in half of Niagara’s 18 games and added 14 assists to rack up 61 total points, fifth-most ever in a single season in program history. Her most dominant performance came on Feb. 25 at Duquesne, when she accounted for seven goals in the team’s 17-14 win over the Dukes. Crump enters 2019 with 50 career assists, sixth all-time for the Purple Eagles.
D’Hont will be another first-year captain for the team. The midfielder posted 20 points (14 G, 6 A) last season. In her three years on Monteagle Ridge, she has yet to miss a game, participating in all 55 games since her freshman season in 2016. She enters the season tied for the 18th-most games ever played in a Purple Eagles uniform. She needs to compete in at 17 more this year to surpass the career record holder, Kara Martin (’17), who donned the Purple and White 71 times in four seasons.
MacCheyne will be a captain for the second straight year after serving alongside Sam Brill in 2018. She has been selected to the All-MAAC First Team in back-to-back seasons and last year became the program’s first-ever IWLCA honoree. The Webster, New York native was named to the West/Midwest All-Region Second Team after closing the 2018 season with 75 points (56 G, 19 A), a .431 shooting percentage and 108 draw controls in 18 games, all team highs. She finished the regular season with a MAAC-best 4.24 points per game and was second in the conference with 3.24 goals per game. Additionally, she finished the season tied at 20th in the country with 6.00 draw controls per game and her 108 draw controls tied her for 22nd in the nation.
“Accomplishing our team mission will always be in the forefront of their minds as we strive to take this program to new heights,” added Stone. “All three are a source of energy for the team, have proven themselves as leaders on the field, and most importantly they care deeply about their teammates. I am confident they will do a great job leading us this year.”
Niagara posted eight wins last year, including five conference victories for the third consecutive season. The team entered the final weekend at 5-2 in MAAC play, in a five-way tie for first place in the conference. For the fourth straight year, the team qualified for the MAAC postseason tournament. Stone is the only coach in team history to post winning conference records in three consecutive seasons since Niagara first fielded a varsity women’s lacrosse team in 1996. Additionally, Stone now has more postseason appearances (four) than all other head coaches combined (three). Prior to Stone’s arrival, the Purple Eagles hadn’t made the MAAC tournament since 2003.
Niagara returns five players named to 2018 All-MAAC teams and 14 MAAC All-Academic honorees. Stone returns for her seventh season as head coach of the Purple Eagles, joined by third-year assistant coaches Amy Martin and Alice Mercer.
