EDISON, N.J. – A total of five Purple Eagles found their way on to All-MAAC teams, highlighted by Co-Midfielder of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors for Rachel Crane and Sydney Huhtala, the conference office announced Friday morning.
 
Joining Crane and Huhtala on the All-MAAC First Team are Niagara attack Lois Garlow and Andra Savage, while Mickey Knapp was selected to the All-MAAC Second Team on defense.
 
Crane earned Co-Midfielder of the Year and All-MAAC First Team honors for the second consecutive season. The Rochester, N.Y., native started all 17 games for the Purple and White this season, accumulating, 50 points, 43 goals, seven assists, a career-high 60 draw controls, 28 ground balls, and 17 caused turnovers. Crane has seven games with three or more goals, including a season-high six at Mount St. Mary's on March 27. The midfielder recorded 12 games with at least three draw controls, including a season-best seven at Stetson on March 14 and again on April 6 at home versus Marist.
 
Huhtala earned MAAC Defensive Player of the Year and All-MAAC First Team honors after being an All-MAAC Second Team and All-Rookie selection in 2023. The defender is among the nation's best, ranking fourth in caused turnovers per game with 2.82 per contest. Her 48 caused turnovers this season are the most by a Purple Eagle in a single season, while her 89 career caused turnovers rank second all-time behind Lauren Paul. Huhtala also leads the team in ground balls with 42, and is third on the squad with 51 draw controls.
 
Savage earns All-MAAC First Team honors for the first time in her career. The attack is the nation's leading goal scorer with 70, becoming Niagara single-season record holder for goals scored earlier this season when she tallied a single-game record of eight at Canisius. Savage's 83 points on the season is also a single-season program record as she surpassed Rachel MacCheyne's previous record of 75 in NU's win over Canisius. Savage is also Niagara's leader on the draw with 65. The Palmyra, N.Y., native has 15 games this season with at least three goals. Of Savage's 70 goals this season, 39 have come in conference play.

Garlow was named to the All-MAAC First Team after an 80-points season, scoring 50 goals and recording an assist on 30 others. Garlow notched season and career-high of nine points in Niagara's at Iona on April 10 with five assists and four goals. The attack recorded 14-multi goal games, including four goals in each of the last four games of the season. IN league play alone, Garlow has tallied 42 points on 25 goals and 17 assists. Garlow currently ranks fourth all-time in goals with 164 and her 236 career points are one shy of tying Rachel MacCheyne's program record of 237. 
 
Knapp earned a spot on the All-MAAC Second Team after a posting 12 caused turnovers, and grabbing 29 ground balls, which matches her career-high set in 2023. Knapp recorded a season-high four caused turnovers at Canisius on April 17, and has recorded two or more ground balls in nine games, including a season-best four at Stetson. Knapp is a five-year member of the Purple Eagles, playing in 62 career games, making 53 starts, including each game of the past two seasons.
 
The Purple and White earned the No. 2 seed in the MAAC Women's Lacrosse Championship after a program-record 13-win season that included seven wins in MAAC play. Niagara goes into the postseason as the conference's top scoring offenses, averaging 15.47 goals per game, 15th best in the country. Niagara also finished the regular season as the MAAC leader in assists per game, caused turnovers per game, free position percentage, points per game, and shot percentage.

The MAAC also announced the All-Academic Team with Niagara landing 20 student-athletes on the squad, including Maddi Anthony, Lexi Brnaiecki, Jaclyn Crane, Rachel Crane, Reese Dera, Lois Garlow, Maddie Gill, Winnie Hotchkiss, Sydney Huhtala, Hannah Kent, Mickey Knapp, Riley Latray, Katie Ling, Emma Miekle, Sammy Owen, Giordan Peck, Jordan Roy, Kendall Scneider, CeCe Sidorovski, and Teaghan Wehner, 
 
Niagara will play its semifinal contest on Friday, May 3 in Fairfield, Conn. Niagara's opponent and game-time are TBD.
 
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