USA Lacrosse Magazine announced Tuesday its Division III Women’s Preseason Positional Players of the Year, honoring the best of the best at each position ahead of the upcoming 2022 spring season.

Four athletes earned preseason positional recognition — one attacker, one midfielder, one defender and one goalie. This one day after the Division III Women’s Preseason All-Americans were announced.

Stay tuned Wednesday for the reveal of the Division III Men’s Preseason Player of the Year.

PRESEASON ATTACKER OF THE YEAR
SYDNEY DEGIROLAMO, ST. JOHN FISHER

DeGirolamo, a fourth-year starter, spearheaded Fisher’s attack in 2021, recording 37 goals and 41 assists for a team-best 78 points while also setting a single-season program record with a nation-leading 155 draw controls. The Empire 8 Player of the Year looks to make another big impact after guiding the Cardinals to the program’s first regional championship and 18-2 finish as a junior.

PRESEASON MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR
JENNA CHOLOWINSKI, YORK

Cholowinski recorded 25 goals and seven assists and picked up a league-high 90 draws to go along with 23 ground balls and nine caused turnovers in 14 games last year. The 2021 MAC Commonwealth Midfielder of the Year finished 14th nationally in total draws and had seven games in which she recorded seven draws or more, helping York to a 14-3 finish. York lost to Messiah in the conference tournament final to end an otherwise strong season in disappointing fashion.

PRESEASON DEFENDER OF THE YEAR
MARY PAT MCKENNA, FRANKLIN & MARSHALL

Expectations are high for McKenna after a solid sophomore season in which she produced 10 caused turnovers, 11 ground balls and nine draw controls to help F&M to a 7-1 finish after a delayed start for the Centennial Conference in 2021. The Diplomats held the No. 1 national ranking going into the NCAA tournament, where they were upset in the second round. McKenna’s 10 caused turnovers ranked third in the conference, and she played a big role in the team’s 6.25 goals against average, which ranked 13th in Division III.

PRESEASON GOALIE OF THE YEAR
MOLLY LALIBERTY, TUFTS

Laliberty served as the catalyst to much of Tufts’ success in 2021, as the Jumbos went 10-1 with a 14-13 loss to Salisbury in the national championship game. The NESCAC Player of the Year stopped 112 of the 188 shots she faced for a .594 save percentage that ranked sixth nationally and allowed just 7.24 goals per game against a challenging schedule that included Division I Dartmouth and six NCAA Division III tournament qualifiers. A fourth-year contributor, Laliberty again will look to make an impact in 2022.