ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Hamline University lacrosse team (7-4, 5-0 MWLC) has not played in the MWLC Championship game yet, but already has a lot to celebrate in this last season, as seven of their players were named to the MWLC First Team, with two being named to the Second Team. In addition, senior Ashley Hessler was named the MWLC Attacker of the Year and head coach Karen Heggernes was named the league's Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season.
 
Hamline's honorees are listed below:
Coach of the Year: Karen Heggernes
Attacker of the Year: Ashley Hessler
MWLC First Team:
Alyssa Bryan-Jeffries
Tara Westerlund
Tara DeLeo
Maya Hernandez
Maria Lewis
Ashley Hessler
Taryn Leonard
MWLC Second Team:
Kendra Haselow
Michaela Arnold
MWLC All-Sportsmanship:
Melanie Hopkins

To see the full list of honorees, click here. 
 
Heggernes, who is in her sixth season as head of the program, has posted an impressive 69-22 overall record while going 38-2 in conference play. The Pipers have reached the NCAA Tournament three times under her guidance and are looking for their fourth straight MWLC Playoff Championship tomorrow in their game against Northwestern.
 
Hessler has had a breakout senior season for the Pipers, leading the conference in points with 56 so far, which includes 26 goals and 30 assists. She has also caused a team-high 18 turnovers and picked up 41 groundballs. Hessler is the program's second Attacker of the Year honoree.
 
Bryan-Jeffries has been solid all year in net for the Pipers, recording a conference-leading .553 save percentage and an 8.19 goals allowed average. The senior also has 104 saves on the year.
 
Westerlund and DeLeo have had a good year defensively, helping the Pipers boast the lowest goals allowed average (8.09) of any team in the conference. Westerlund has caused 10 turnovers on the season and picked up 14 ground balls and DeLeo matched Westerlund's effort in ground balls with 14.
 
Hernandez, Lewis, and Leonard have all been important aspects of the offense in addition to Hessler. Hernandez leads the team in goals with 27 and Leonard is not far behind with 22. Both have 31 points. Lewis has posted 16 goals and six assists throughout the year while also leading HU in draw controls with 32. Hernandez and Haselow have also been strong on the draw, each collecting 30 draw controls so far this season. Arnold has had an imposing presence in the midfield as well, with 11 goals, eight caused turnovers, and 21 groundballs.
 
The MWLC Championship game is set for tomorrow, May 1, as the Pipers will host Northwestern at 6:30 p.m. at Klas Field. The winner of the game will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.