PSAC Release

LOCK HAVEN, PA – IUP's Alexa Lodovici (Voorhees, NJ/Eastern Regional), Drew Hayden (Gibsonia/Pine Richland) and Mindy Richmond were named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's (PSAC) Athlete of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively, as the league's postseason awards were announced on Wednesday morning.

Along with Lodovici, Colleen Berlin (Baltimore, MD/Institute of Notre Dame), Taylor Norwood (Chantilly, VA/Chantilly), and Paige Beierschmitt (Eastampton Township, NJ/Rancocas Valley Regional) were all named first team All-PSAC.

This is the first time that any PSAC school has swept the athlete, freshman/rookie, and coach of the year awards as a part of the entire conference. Lock Haven did achieve the same feat in 2009, although that was while the league was split into East and West and the Bald Eagles only competed with five other schools for postseason awards.

This is also the first time that IUP has ever garnered the athlete and freshman of the year awards while it's the second coach of the year award for the program.

The four first team selections are the most for a PSAC school this year, as conference champion West Chester and runner-up Lock Haven each had two. Bloomsburg also had two first teamers while Mercyhurst, Gannon and Shippensburg each had one.

Lodovici finishes her career as the best scorer in school history. Her 175 career goals and 292 career points are both first all-time while her 125 assists are second at IUP. The senior attacker broke her own school records with 55 goals and 101 points this year while tying the program mark with 46 assists in 16 games.

The two-time first team All-PSAC selection finished the season ranked in the top 10 in the nation in points (sixth), points per game (fourth – 6.31), assists (ninth) and assists per game (seventh – 2.88) while also ranking 16th in goals per game (3.44). She led the PSAC in points per game and finished second in goals and assists per game.

Lodovici netted at least four goals nine times this year, including a career-high seven on Senior Day against Gannon. She scored at least seven points in eight games, posting three 10-point contests during the year. She was named PSAC Athlete of the Week on two occasions and on Tuesday was named first team IWLCA All-South Region. She had a 51.4 shooting percentage and added 29 ground balls.

Hayden played a significant role for the Crimson Hawks in her first year on campus. The freshman midfielder finished third on the team with 33 goals and fifth with 35 points. The 33 goals were third all-time at IUP by a first year player, following 36 by Berlin in 2011 and 35 by Kylie Miller in 2006.

She scored in 14 of her 16 games played, including 11 multi-point games. She scored at least three goals six times with a season-high of four goals coming against Millersville, Kutztown and Gannon in the PSAC quarterfinals.

Adding to her all-around game, Hayden finished second on the team with 23 caused turnovers, third with 33 ground balls and added 21 draw controls. She also had a 55.0 shooting percentage on the year.

Richmond earns coach of the year honors after leading the Crimson Hawks to the best season in program history as they finished 13-3 and advanced to the semifinals of the PSAC championships, falling to West Chester on a late goal by a score of 7-6.

IUP started the year with a school record 11 straight wins, defeated Gannon for the first time in school history in the regular season finale, and hosted and won its first postseason game in school history, also against Gannon.

Under Richmond's direction, the Crimson Hawks broke or tied 10 school single season records, including most goals scored (263), fewest goals allowed (131) and lowest goals against average (8.19). IUP lead the PSAC with a +8.3 scoring margin, had the most caused turnovers (203), and currently ranks in the top 10 in the nation in seven different categories.

Berlin earns her first All-PSAC honor after finishing second on the team with 47 goals and 51 points. The junior scored at least three goals in 11 of her 14 games this year, with a career-high of six against Slippery Rock. She added 35 draw controls, 32 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers on the year.

Named second team IWLCA All-South Region on Tuesday, her 128 career goals are fourth all-time at IUP while her 145 career points are fifth.

Norwood is now a two-time first team selection and has earned All-PSAC honors three times in her career. The junior led a standout defensive effort this year as she finished third in Division II with 2.06 caused turnovers per game with a team-high 33 in 16 games. She added 38 ground balls, 31 draw controls and had two assists.

The three-time all-region selection is already IUP's all-time leader with 79 career caused turnovers while also ranking fourth with 76 draw controls and fifth with 106 ground balls.

Beierschmitt is now a two-time first team All-PSAC selection at defender for the Crimson Hawks. Helping to lead one of the PSAC's top defenses, she finished third in the league with 2.81 ground balls per game and tallied 18 caused turnovers on the year.

She's within striking distance of IUP's career record in ground balls with 113 and is fourth all-time in school history with 48 career caused turnovers.