Four Irish Named All-Region

May 11, 2018

By Matt Paras

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association announced on Friday that four University of Notre Dame women’s lacrosse players have been selected to the West/Midwest All-Region team. Sophomore Savannah Buchanan was named to the All-Region first team, and juniors Samantha Giacolone, Hannah Proctor and freshman Andie Aldave received All-Region second team honors.

Buchanan started all 19 games for the Irish in the midfield during her sophomore campaign and was a key cog on the offensive and defensive end. She led the team in assists (27), second in draw controls (67), ground balls (38), third in goals (27), points (43) and caused turnovers (18). Buchanan sits tied for third all-time in school history for most draw controls in a single season. She scored the game-winning goal with 31.4 seconds left against No. 18 Duke and assisted on the overtime game-winning goal against No. 7 Syracuse.

Buchanan earned an honorable mention All-American honor from Inside Lacrosse along with second team All-ACC honors. Following the ACC Tournament, she was one of two Irish athletes named to the All-Tournament team.

Aldave also started all 19 games for the Irish at midfield and made an immediate impact during her first season. Aldave led the team in draw controls (98), second in goals (31) and points (45) and third in assists (14) and broke three school records over the course of the season. She tallied 11 draw controls against Stetson to break the single-game record, which was held by 2017 first team All-Region nominee Casey Pearsall. In the final week of the regular season, Aldave recorded her 86th draw control to break Barbara Sullivan‘s record for most draws in a single season. Then in the ACC Semifinals, Aldave scored her 30th goal of the season which marked the first time in school history two freshmen have scored 30+ goals in a season. Maddie Howe led the team with 40 goals on the year.

Aldave also had the flair for the dramatic for the Irish this season, contributing on two game-winning goals. The first came in the 11-10 upset win of No. 7 Syracuse when she scored the game-winner two minutes into the first overtime period. Then in the ACC Quarterfinals, Aldave scored the game-tying and game-winning goal to help the Irish overcome a five-goal deficit to beat No. 4 seed Virginia 11-10. Aldave was named to the ACC All-Tournament team after her performance against Virginia and Boston College.

Giacolone was named to the preseason All-ACC team along with earning honorable mention preseason All-American honors by Inside Lacrosse. She led the ACC in save percentage (.469) and was third in saves (146) and saves per game (7.33). She recorded a career-high .647 save percentage against Jacksonville when she saved 11 of 17 shots she faced. Giacolone also had six games with double-digit saves, with three of those games coming against ranked opponents. At the end of the regular season, Giacolone was named first team All-ACC by the league’s coaches.

Proctor started all 19 games on the back line for the Irish and was also named to the preseason All-ACC team. She was second among defenders in ground balls (28) and third in caused turnovers (16). Proctor tied a career high with five ground balls and three caused turnovers against No. 7 Northwestern. She helped limit opponents to less than 10 goals eight times this season and the Irish were 7-1 in those games. Proctor also held opponents to two goals or less in a half six times this season and Notre Dame was 5-1 in those games. Proctor was named second team All-ACC at the end of the regular season.

The IWLCA has honored 128 student-athletes in Division I with a selection to one of the All-Region teams for 2018. These student-athletes are now eligible to be named to a national IWLCA All-American team. The IWLCA will celebrate the 2018 All-Americans during Divisional All-American Announcement Shows, which will be launched online in mid-June.

West/MidWest All-Region First Team
Kayla Brisolari, Pennsylvania State University, Defense
Sarah Brown, University of Colorado, Defense
Savannah Buchanan, University of Notre Dame, Midfield
Madison Carter, Pennsylvania State University, Attack
Shelby Fredericks, Northwestern University, Attack
Grace Gabriel, Marquette University, Midfield
Darby Kiernan, University of Colorado, Attack
Selena Lasota, Northwestern University, Attack
Julia Lisella, University of Colorado, Goalkeeper
Julia Massaro, Stanford University, Defense
Kerrigan Miller, University of Southern California, Midfield
Kelsey Murray, Stanford University, Attack
Sheila Nesselbush, Northwestern University, Midfield
Katie O’Donnell, Pennsylvania State University, Midfield
Miranda Stinson, University of Colorado, Attack
Lydia Sutton, University of Southern California, Defense

West/MidWest All-Region Second Team
Andie Aldave, University of Notre Dame, Midfield
Ali Baiocco, Stanford University, Attack
Caroline Blalock, University of Louisville, Midfield
Julia Feiss, University of Denver, Attack
Samantha Giacolone, University of Notre Dame, Goalkeeper
Jackie Gilbert, University of Southern California, Defense
Emily Howell, University of Louisville, Defense
Julie Krupnick, Northwestern University, Goalkeeper
Allison Lane, Marquette University, Midfield
Rachel MacCheyne, Niagara University, Attack
Daniella McMahon, Stanford University, Midfield
Kennedy Milburn, University of Denver, Defense
Hannah Proctor, University of Notre Dame, Defense
Jen Reininger, Canisius College, Midfield
Jourdan Roemer, Canisius College, Attack
Jill Zubillaga, University of Oregon, Attack

–ND–

Matt Paras, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since January 2018. In his role, he coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse and cross country/track & field programs. A native of Warwick, Rhode Island, Paras is a graduate of the University of Louisville where he completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Sport Administration. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, he worked at Vanderbilt University as the sports information contact for the women’s soccer and lacrosse programs.