EDISON, NJ (Apr. 24, 2025) – The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has announced the Women’s Lacrosse Major Award winners and All-MAAC Teams for the 2025 season, voted on by the league’s 12 head coaches.
Fairfield graduate student, Amanda Kozak named 2025 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year. Kozak has appeared and started in all 16 games for the Stags in her final season, earning All-MAAC First team honors at the attack position. She posted a stat line of 27 goals and 30 assists for 57 points in 2025. She ranked second in the MAAC in total assists and assists per game (1.88). Kozak’s point total was fourth on the conference leaderboard, while her points average was fifth-best on the league chart. She recorded a shot percentage of .540, fifth among other MAAC players, and a .720 shots on goal percentage. Kozak scored at least one point in every MAAC contest this season and scored multiple points in all but one of the league games. Her nine points and six assists against Rider on March 29, 2025, were tied for the second-most points and assists in a game among all MAAC players during the year. Kozak was honored as MAAC Offensive Player of the Week a pair of times this year, winning the awards on March 31 and April 14.
For the second straight season, Sydney Huhtala of Niagara was awarded with MAAC Defensive Player of the Year accolades. One of the best defensive players in the country, Huhtala dominated the MAAC and the NCAA in ground balls and caused turnovers, scooping up 66 ground balls with an average of 3.88 per game, and forcing 58 caused turnovers while averaging 3.41 per outing. She led the nation in total ground balls and ranked second nationally in ground balls per game, total caused turnovers and caused turnovers average. Huhtala was the only player in league this year to cause seven turnovers in one contest and she was one of two players to cause six in an individual game, doing it on three separate occasions in 2025. She also tied for a league game-high of seven ground balls with multiple players but was the only one on the list to achieve the feat more than once. Additionally, in 17 starts for the Purple Eagles, she won 25 draw controls and scored one goal for one point offensively. Huhtala won MAAC Defensive Player of the Week on February 10 as well. The junior was placed on the All-MAAC First Team for the second consecutive year, while also having a second team and rookie team honor which she picked up during her first year in 2023.
Iona’s Kira Varada became a three-time MAAC Midfielder of the Year, securing the awards in 2023, 2024, and 2025, winning the honor outright for the first time after being a co-honoree the past two years. A stat sheet stuffer and the only unanimous All-MAAC First Team selection, Varada led the Gaels in goals, points, ground balls, caused turnovers, and draw controls, while ranking second in assists and free position goals in 15 contests during the 2025 stanza. On the offensive end, she scored 34 goals, handed out 13 assists and racked up 47 points on 92 shot attempts. Her total goals were 12th among MAAC players, while her total shots were seventh and her 6.13 shots per game average ranked eighth. Defensively, Varada forced 47 caused turnovers, picked up 45 ground balls, and won 44 draws. Her total caused turnovers and caused turnovers per game (3.13) both ranked fourth in the NCAA and were second in the MAAC to only Huhtala. Varada’s total ground balls and her ground ball average (3.00) each ranked 14
th in the nation. She collected a conference leading four MAAC Defensive Player of the Week awards in 2025, earning the weekly honor on February 24, March 17 and 31, and April 14. Varada is now a five-time All-MAAC choice, making the first team the past three season and both the second team and rookie team in 2022 during her freshman year.
The 2025 MAAC Goalkeeper of the Year and 2025 MAAC Rookie of the Year awards were garnered by Shannon Alden from Quinnipiac. The first year goalie appeared in the net all 16 games this season for the Bobcats, making 15 starts while posting a 3-2 MAAC record and 5-5 overall mark. Alden logged 874:20 minutes of action, making 158 saves, with a save percentage of .485, and a goals-against average of 11.53. Her 9.81 saves per game led the MAAC and ranked 17
th in the country, while she ranked second in the conference in saves and save percentage, and fourth in goals-against average. Alden was the lone first year player to earn All-MAAC First Team honors as well as making the All-Rookie Team. Moreover, she recorded 23 ground balls and caused seven turnovers.
Mount St. Mary's Lauren Skellchock was unanimously named 2025 MAAC Coach of the Year. Skellchock guided the Mount to a regular season finish of 11-5 and a 7-1 MAAC record, clinching the program’s first-ever MAAC Regular Season title and the top overall seed in the MAAC Championship field. The regular season championship was the sixth overall in program history, but the first for the Mount since joining the MAAC with the previous five coming as members of the Northeast Conference (NEC). The Mountaineers posted a 7-1 or better league mark for the third time under Skellchock (first while being in the MAAC) and the 11 overall wins are the most in a season by the team since joining the conference. Mount St. Mary’s was the only conference team this season with 10 or more overall wins and the 11-5 record (.688) was the best overall mark on the league standings. This was also the fourth overall coach of the year accolade for Skellchock (first as a MAAC member), previously winning three in a row in the NEC in 2018, 2019, and 2021.
The full list of All-MAAC Teams and major awards winners are below.
| 2025 Women’s Lacrosse Major Awards |
| Awards |
Player |
School |
| Offensive Player of the Year |
Amanda Kozak |
Fairfield |
| Defensive Player of the Year |
Sydney Huhtala |
Niagara |
| Midfielder of the Year |
Kira Varada |
Iona |
| Goalkeeper of the Year |
Shannon Alden |
Quinnipiac |
| Rookie of the Year |
Shannon Alden |
Quinnipiac |
| Coach of the Year |
Lauren Skellchock* |
Mount St. Mary's |
| All-MAAC First Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Amanda Kozak |
Gr. |
Attack |
Fairfield |
| Mackenzi Furlong |
Gr. |
Attack |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Katie Walsh |
R-Jr. |
Attack |
Rider |
| Grace Dobrzynski |
Sr. |
Attack |
Siena |
| Kira Varada* |
Sr. |
Midfield |
Iona |
| Anna Salerno |
Sr. |
Midfield |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Maddy Gill |
Jr. |
Midfield |
Niagara |
| Macey Daly |
Gr. |
Defense |
Fairfield |
| Hailey Chester |
Jr. |
Defense |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Sydney Huhtala |
Jr. |
Defense |
Niagara |
| Madelyn Breitbeil |
So. |
Defense |
Sacred Heart |
| Brynn Donnelly |
Jr. |
Specialist |
Fairfield |
| Shannon Alden |
FY. |
Goalkeeper |
Quinnipiac |
| All-MAAC Second Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Kelly Haggerty |
So. |
Attack |
Fairfield |
| Grace Slater |
Sr. |
Attack |
Fairfield |
| Kacie Scarduzio |
Sr. |
Attack |
Iona |
| Abby Wise |
Sr. |
Attack |
Quinnipiac |
| Maddie Fitzgerald |
So. |
Midfield |
Canisius |
| Haley Burns |
Sr. |
Midfield |
Fairfield |
| EllaGrace Delmond |
Sr. |
Midfield |
Quinnipiac |
| Carly Linthicum |
Sr. |
Defense |
Iona |
| Molly Molchanoff |
Sr. |
Defense |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Caelan O'Connor |
Sr. |
Defense |
Quinnipiac |
| Mikayla Cooke |
Sr. |
Defense |
Siena |
| Marissa Ross |
Sr. |
Specialist |
Rider |
| Ava Giugliano |
R-Fr. |
Goalkeeper |
Iona |
| Camille Thomas |
So. |
Goalkeeper |
Mount St. Mary's |
| MAAC All-Rookie Team |
| Player |
Class |
Position |
School |
| Katie Adams |
Fr. |
Attack |
Canisius |
| Tessa Caputo |
Fr. |
Attack |
Fairfield |
| Keira Furey |
Fr. |
Goalkeeper |
Fairfield |
| Finley Mulhern |
Fr. |
Defense |
Iona |
| Taija Bell |
Fr. |
Defense |
Marist |
| Brooke Molchanoff* |
Fr. |
Midfield |
Mount St. Mary's |
| Michaela Delles |
Fr. |
Attack |
Niagara |
| Haley Terry |
Fr. |
Goalkeeper |
Niagara |
| Shannon Alden |
FY. |
Goalkeeper |
Quinnipiac |
| Emma Miller-Ayala |
FY. |
Midfield |
Quinnipiac |
| Anna Givens |
FY. |
Midfield |
Quinnipiac |
| Elizabeth Shean |
Fr. |
Attack |
Rider |
*Denote Unanimous Selection
The 2025 MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship is an eight-team, single-elimination championship taking place between April 25 and May 4, 2025. The first and second rounds will be hosted by the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds on Friday and Sunday, April 25 and 27. The bracket will reseed following the second round and the semifinals and championship final will be hosted by the No. 1 seed in the field on Friday, May 2 and Sunday, May 4. For all information regarding the 2025 MAAC Women’s Lacrosse Championship, please visit
maacsports.com/wlax.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 13 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) is in its 44th year of competition during the 2024-25 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius University, Fairfield University, Iona University, Manhattan University, Marist University, Merrimack College, Mount St. Mary’s University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Sacred Heart University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.
Stay up to date with the MAAC on social media by following @MAACSports on
Twitter,
Facebook,
Instagram and
Threads or visit
MAACSports.com for all the latest MAAC news.