Liberty Features 10 in ASUN Women’s Lacrosse Postseason Honors & Awards

ASUN All-Conference and All-Freshman Team

ASUN All-Academic Team

Prior to the start of the ASUN Championship, Liberty featured 10 players in the 2022 ASUN Conference Women’s Lacrosse Postseason Honors & Awards.

The Lady Flames had four ASUN All-Conference first team honorees, three ASUN All-Conference second team recipients, one ASUN All-Freshman team member and two ASUN All-Academic team honorees. Liberty’s seven combined first and second team all-conference selections is the most in the ASUN.

Liberty’s ASUN All-Conference first team players are Hannah Quast, Mackenzie Lehman, Mia Toscano and Jordan Baerga. The Lady Flames’ three second team honorees include Alexa Evernham, Lizzy Ferguson and Brooke Bryan.

Cami Merkel is Liberty’s ASUN All-Freshman team member. The Lady Flames’ Andrea Colavito and Mikayla Coghill have been voted to the ASUN All-Academic team for their efforts in the classroom.

In order to be eligible for the ASUN All-Academic team, ASUN student-athletes must have a minimum 3.30 cumulative GPA (on a 4.0 scale), completed four semesters of college coursework or 50 percent of progress towards their degree, participated in 50 percent of the team’s contests and have one year of residence at the institution.

Liberty has featured 20 ASUN All-Conference/All-Freshman team honorees over the past two season as well as five ASUN All-Academic team members.

The Lady Flames (10-7, 4-1 ASUN) are the No. 2 seed for the 2022 ASUN Women’s Lacrosse Championship and will square off with No. 3 seed Kennesaw State (11-6, 3-2 ASUN) in Thursday’s semifinals. First draw is 4 p.m. at Rock Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla.

Hannah Quast (First Team)

This is Quast’s first time on the ASUN All-Conference first team and third career all-conference distinction. The defender from Mullica Hill, N.J. earned All-ASUN second team honors in 2019 and was a Big South All-Conference honorable mention recipient in 2018. Quast, who has started all 17 games in 2022, is second on the team (also second in ASUN) in caused turnovers (27) and fourth in ground balls (36). She is 27th in the nation in caused turnovers per game (1.59).

Quast has logged eight games with multiple caused turnovers and started the year with five straight. The senior has 11 games with multiple ground balls, including a career-best five against Richmond on Feb. 19. Quast scooped up three ground balls and tallied two caused turnovers versus No. 12 Florida (March 19). In five ASUN regular season games, she had 10 caused turnovers and eight ground balls. Quast also has two goals and one draw control on the season.

Mackenzie Lehman (First Team)

This is Lehman’s first time making the ASUN All-Conference first team after she earned ASUN Freshman of the Year, All-Conference second team and All-Freshman honors in 2021. The sophomore midfielder is the team leader in goals (37) and points (49), second in draw controls (57) and fourth in assists (12). She appeared in 15 games during the regular season (all starts) and  has recorded 13 ground balls and 12 caused turnovers as well. Lehman scored a team-best 14 goals in five ASUN regular season contests.

Lehman scored the game-winning goal in a 15-14 overtime triumph at Virginia Tech on Feb. 23, Liberty’s first-ever triumph over the Hokies. She has multiple goals in 10 games and scored a career-high six goals on six shots against Stetson (April 10). Lehman is currently first in the ASUN and seventh nationally in shot percentage (.597). The McMurray, Pa. native won a career-best 10 draw controls in Liberty’s season opener at Vanderbilt and has four or more draws in seven games.

Mia Toscano (First Team)

Toscano earns a spot on the ASUN All-Conference first team for the second straight year. The award is also her third career All-Conference recognition, as she was also named to the Big South All-Conference second team in 2018. The senior midfielder was the only Lady Flame to earn two weekly awards, both ASUN Defensive Player of the Week honors, this spring. Toscano is second on the team and second in the ASUN with 41 ground balls and third in caused turnovers (both on team and in ASUN) with 24. The Venetia, Pa. native is 35th nationally in both ground balls per game (2.56) and caused turnovers per game (1.50). She has 12 games with multiple ground balls, six games with multiple caused turnovers and two games with four caused turnovers.

Toscano is also third on the squad with 33 draw controls and has 15 goals, 10 assists and 25 points. She scored a career-high four goals at UC Davis on March 11 and dished out a career-best three assists on April 16 at Coastal Carolina.

Jordan Baerga (First Team)

After being named to the ASUN All-Freshman team a season ago, Baerga made the jump up to the ASUN All-Conference first team after a standout third season for Liberty. Baerga got off to a strong start to the year, earning her first career ASUN Player of the Week award on Feb. 15 after scoring five goals and scooping up four ground balls in the season opener at Vanderbilt (Feb. 12).

The sophomore attacker from Clayton, Del. has started all 17 games and is second on the team in goals (35, No. 5 in ASUN), tied for second in assists (13) and second in points (48). Baerga has also contributed 22 ground balls, 12 caused turnovers, eight draw controls and four free-position goals. She has 10 multiple-goal games, two five-goal games and five games with multiple ground balls.

Alexa Evernham (Second Team)

Evernham earns her second straight ASUN All-Conference second team recognition. The defender from Swedesboro, N.C. is the ASUN leader in total caused turnovers (28) and caused turnovers per game (1.65), ranking No. 24 in the nation in caused turnovers per game. She earned her first career ASUN Defensive Player of the Week honor on April 5. Evernham is also third in the ASUN and third on the squad in ground balls with 37.

The senior notched a career-best six caused turnovers against Stetson (April 9) and had multiple caused turnovers in six games during the regular season. Evernham tallied four caused turnovers in a narrow 8-7 loss to No. 7 Duke. She has scooped up three or more ground balls on seven occasions. Evernham has started every game for Liberty over the past two seasons (36 games).

Lizzy Ferguson (Second Team)

This is the first career ASUN postseason honor for the junior from Fort Washington, Pa. Ferguson is the team leader in draw controls with 62 on the year, ranking third in the league in the category. Ferguson has eight games with four or more draw controls and matched a career high with nine at UC Davis on March 11.

The midfielder has appeared in all 17 games this season with four starts. Ferguson has also enjoyed a banner year on the offensive end with 18 goals and 20 points, both career highs. She scored seven times in five ASUN games and netted her first career hat trick versus Stetson (April 9). Ferguson has also pitched in two assists, 15 caused turnovers (career high) and 13 ground balls (career high).

Brooke Bryan (Second Team)

Bryan, a first team selection in 2021, earns her second career ASUN All-Conference award. The senior attacker from Westlake, Calif. has appeared in all 17 games in 2022 with 16 starts. The team leader in free-position goals (11, No. 3 in ASUN) and program’s all-time leader in career free-position goals (36), Bryan ranks third on the squad in goals (31), tied for second in assists (13) and third in points (44). She has contributed nine multiple-goal games while adding 11 ground balls and three caused turnovers.

Bryan is the team leader in assists (7) and points (20) in Liberty’s five ASUN games. The attacker totaled a career-best seven points (three goals, career-high four assists) in the regular season finale versus Kennesaw State. Bryan scored three goals in a 15-14 overtime win at Virginia Tech, Feb. 23.

Cami Merkel (All-Freshman Team)

Merkel ranks fourth on the squad with 24 goals on the season and is fifth in points with 28. The attacker from Cumming, Ga., led all Liberty freshmen during the regular season in goals (24), assists (4), points (28), shots (64), ground balls (9), caused turnovers (3, tied for first) games played (17) and games started (16).

Merkel scored four goals in her first collegiate game at Vanderbilt (Feb. 12) and tallied a season-best five goals in a win over Old Dominion. She notched multiple goals in six regular season games and scored six goals in five ASUN contests.

Andrea Colavito (All-Academic Team)

Colavito, a midfielder from Johns Creek, Ga., is the first player in program history to be a two-time ASUN All-Academic team member. The junior is maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA as a public health: health promotion major and will complete her bachelor’s degree this month.

Colavito is also a three-time ASUN Academic Honor Roll recipient. She has appeared in 16 of Liberty’s 17 games and is fifth on the team with 13 draw controls. During the regular season, Colavito tallied seven goals, five assists, 12 points, 10 caused turnovers and eight ground balls.

Mikayla Coghill (All-Academic Team)

Coghill, a defender from Fredericksburg, Va., earns her first career ASUN All-Academic team honor. A three-time ASUN Academic Honor Roll member, she currently has a 3.81 GPA as an exercise science – therapeutic science major.

On the field, Coghill earned her first career ASUN Defensive Player of the Week award on March 15 after a career game against No. 12 Florida in which she established new career highs in ground balls (7) and caused turnovers (6). The defender started all 17 regular season games this spring, tallying 21 caused turnovers (fourth on team), 26 ground balls (fifth on team), one goal and two draw controls.