Evans Becomes Women's Lacrosse First All-American
MAAC Sports
Sophomore midfielder Erica Evans of the Canisius College women’s lacrosse team became the first player in program history to garner All-America honors, named to the IWLCA Third Team on Wednesday.
The first player in conference history to be named MAAC Midfielder of the Year twice, Evans also earned regional All-America accolades and all-conference honors during her standout sophomore campaign.
During the 2016 season, Evans established school records with 91 points and 72 goals – topping the previous standards by 10 points and 13 tallies. She also led the Griffs with 81 draw controls, 47 ground balls and 31 caused turnovers as a sophomore. Overall, Evans ranks second nationally with 3.60 goals per game, sixth with 4.55 points per game and 22nd with 4.05 draw controls per game.
Evans led the Griffs to their fifth MAAC Championship in school history in 2016. She was named the MAAC Tournament MVP and set the program’s postseason record with nine goals during the title run.
“Our program is so proud of what Erica has been able to accomplish in just two years at Canisius,” said Griffs head coach Scott Teeter. “She worked very hard to collected this deserved honor and it puts her in elite company. Erica has meant a lot to our program and has continued to help elevate our team on a national level. I’m excited to see how much more she can develop the next two seasons as a Griff and how much further she can take our program.”
The Peterborough, Ontario native is one of only eight underclassmen in the country to collect All-America accolades in 2016. She is also the first-ever player in the MAAC to garner the honor, while joining Alisa Robinson of the Canisius women’s basketball team (1988-89) as the only two female Griffs to be named a Division I All-American.
Evans and the Griffs finished the 2016 season with a 13-7 record, winning the MAAC Championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the last six years.