PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Little East Conference (LEC) announced its 2021 All-LEC and major award recipients Tuesday, following a vote of the league's head coaches.
 
LEC Coach of the Year honors went to first-year Western Connecticut head coach Meghan Els, who to-date has guided WestConn to a perfect 9-0 record as it captured the first LEC regular season and tournament championships in program history. WestConn is also in the NCAA tournament for the first time, and will face Johnson & Wales (R.I.) in its tournament opener Saturday hosted by Colby.

Senior attack Caroline Galligan (Marshfield, Conn.), junior defender Katie Keane (Pleasantville, N.Y.) and Meghan Lorenzen (Stony Brook, N.Y.) was named to the all-conference First Team while freshman Victoria Gracy (Bethel, Conn.) reeped Second-Team honors on Tuesday.

The Colonials, currently 9-0 and recent winners of the LEC regular-season and tournament championships, will take on Johnson and Wales University (RI) this Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Division III Championships.  The 2 pm game will take place at Colby College in Waterville, Me. and no spectators will be allowed to attend.

Individual major award winners:
Keene State junior attack Brigid Casey was named the 2021 LEC Offensive Player of the Year and a First-Team all-LEC selection after leading the Owls in scoring with 33 goals and 22 assists for 55 points, and ranking second on the team with 38 draw controls. The 2019 LEC Rookie of the Year is the first-ever Keene State player to be named the LEC Offensive Player of the Year.
 
Plymouth State senior goalie Meaghan Allard was named the LEC Defensive Player of the Year after going 7-3 with a 6.26 goals against average and .580 save percentage, totaling 87 saves while playing every minute in goal for the Panthers this season. She led the LEC in save percentage, was second in goals against average and third in saves. Allard is the seventh Plymouth State player to be named the LEC Defensive Player of the Year.
 
The 2021 Little East Midfielder and Rookie of the Year is Keene State's Haile Ratajack, who is the first-ever Owl to be named Midfielder of the Year and is the fourth KSC player to be named LEC Rookie of the Year. Ratajack led the team in goals (37), draw controls (49), ground balls (53 and caused turnovers (35) this season, and was third on the team in overall scoring with 47 points. She ranked among the league leaders in each of those categories while leading the LEC in ground balls and caused turnovers.
 
The complete list of award recipients is as follows:
 

2021 LEC Women's Lacrosse Awards
	Name	Cl.	Institution	Hometown
Offensive Player of the Year	Brigid Casey	Jr.	Keene State	Mont Vernon, N.H.
Defensive Player of the Year	Meaghan Allard	Sr.	Plymouth State	Amherst, N.Y.
Midfielder  of the Year	Haile Ratajack	So.	Keene State	Brewster, N.Y.
Rookie of the Year	Haile Ratajack	So.	Keene State	Brewster, N.Y.
Coach of the Year	Meghan Els		Western Connecticut
First Team All-Little East Conference
Position	Name	Cl.	Institution	Hometown
Attack	Brigid Casey	Jr.	Keene State	Mont Vernon, N.H.
Attack	Sydney Dubois	Gr.	Plymouth State	Goffstown. N.H.
Attack	Alex Farley	Sr.	Southern Maine	Buxton, Maine
Attack	Caroline Galligan	Sr.	Western Connecticut	Marshfield, Mass.
Midfield	Tristan Kijak	Sr.	Eastern Connecticut	Windsor, Conn.
Midfield	Haile Ratajack	So.	Keene State	Brewster, N.Y.
Midfield	Elizabeth McLaughlin	Sr.	Plymouth State	Melvin Village, N.H.
Midfield	Megan Violette	Sr.	Southern Maine	Portland, Maine
Defense	Faye Brown	Sr.	Plymouth State	Londonderry, N.H.
Defense	Katie Keane	Jr.	Western Connecticut	Pleasantville, N.Y.
Defense	Meghan Lorenzen	So.	Western Connecticut	Stony Brook, N.Y.
Goalie	Meaghan Allard	Sr.	Plymouth State	Amherst, N.H.
Second Team All-Little East Conference
Position	Name	Cl.	Institution	Hometown
Attack	Kimberly McCarthy	Fr.	Castleton	West Sayville, N.Y.
Attack	Chloe Miller	So.	Eastern Connecticut	Avon, Conn.
Attack	Ali Daisy	Sr.	Keene State	Raynham, Mass.
Attack	Emily Santom	So.	Plymouth State	Litchfield, N.H.
Midfield	Caroline Stent	So.	Eastern Connecticut	Weatogue, Conn.
Midfield	Megan Gorham	Sr.	Keene State	Marshfield, Mass.
Midfield	Jennifer Darasz	Gr.	Southern Maine	Gorham, Maine
Midfield	Victoria Gracy	Fr.	Western Connecticut	Bethel, Conn.
Defense	Aiyana Ward	Jr.	Eastern Connecticut	Waterbury, Conn.
Defense	Autumn Nelson	So.	Plymouth State	Weare, N.H.
Defense	Morgan Eliasen	Sor.	Southern Maine	Lewiston, Maine
Goalie	Mariah Vaillancourt	Sr.	Southern Maine	Lewiston, Maine