The Rockford girls lacrosse team may have fallen a goal short of the finals, but that did not stop several members of the team from garnering post-season accolades. Earning Honorable Mention All-Conference in highly competitive Rainbow Division I conference were attack player Michon Moline, who was the Rams’ third leading scorer, and goalie Gabrielle Twiest, who had a gaudy 65 percent in saves for the season and allowed less than six goals per game in conference play. Earning First Team All-Conference for the Rams were leading scorer Andi Raymond, Meagan Emery, Abbey Neerken, and Lexi O’Connor. Raymond, Emery and Neerken were repeat honorees from 2008 as sophomores.
At the state level, Raymond and Emery earned First Team Division I honors. Raymond led the Rams with 100 goals and 60 assists. She added 113 draws won and 39 caused turnovers. Raymond unofficially led the state in scoring in 2009. Emery-the Rams’ second leading scorer with 58 regular season goals, 28 assists, 93 ground balls, and 22 caused turnovers-is well-known for her blazing speed.
Earning Second Team All-State is the Rams’ quiet worker Neerken. While not quiet as a person, Neerken quietly snuck up on the opponents to be top five in every category with the Rams’ offense while Emery and Raymond drew attention. She had 55 ground balls and 92 draws won while scoring 18 goals.
Rounding out the honors for the Rams was O’Connor, who earned All-State Honorable Mention status as the Rams’ best pure defender. Always marked up on a strong attack player, she played well all year, never being assessed a yellow card penalty.
All four state award winners for the Rams will return in 2010 to form the nucleus of a team that should challenge at the state level once again.
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