Cox, Foote and Baker Earn NLC Honors

DAVIDSON, N.C. – After leaving Howard University with one of the most decorated lacrosse careers in the history of the program, senior Desiree Cox was named to the National Lacrosse Conference Second-Team All-Conference.

Last year Cox was name the NLC Attacker of the Year and compiled an astounding 68 goals, ranking her No. 7 in the nation. Her four goals per game average made her second-best in the country. She also posted 77 points, 26 draw controls and averaged 4.53 points per game in the 2009-10 season.

By the conclusion of the 2011 season Cox finished first on the team in goals (55), shots (126), draw controls (46) and points (57) and fourth in groundballs with 28.

Cox was also named to the 2011 NLC All-Academic Team alongside teammates Ashley Foote and Janae Baker.

To be eligible for recognition on the Academic All-League team, a student-athlete must be a sophomore in class standing, carry a GPA of 3.40 or above on a 4.0 scale, and have been a starter or key reserve. Cox, Foote and Baker earned grade point averages of 3.61, 3.57 and 3.42, respectively.

 Desiree Cox

First Team All-Conference
Goalie:
Juli Liebig – Longwood
Kristen Masullo - Liberty


Defense:
Lily Graham - Davidson
Rachel Hannon - Jacksonville
Hannah Riggs - Longwood

Midfield:
Alanna Parker - Davidson
Sara Kuhlman - High Point
Ellyn Spangenberg - Jacksonville
Cara O’Brian - Longwood

Attack:

Janae  Baker

Ann Fucigna - Davidson
Grace Gaeng - High Point
Morgan Derner – Jacksonville

Second Team All-Conference
Goalie:
Karli Tobin - Jacksonville

Defense:
Erin McGuire - Davidson
Jasmine Jordan - High Point
Courtney McLaughlin - High Point

Midfield:
Emily Bossonneault – Detroit
Kaitlin Stewart – Jacksonville
Jennifer Freymond – Liberty
Jamie Beamish – Presbyterian

Ashley Foote 

Attack:
Chelsea Thompson – High Point
Desiree Cox – Howard
Kelsey Dean – Longwood
Shannon Hartford - Presbyterian

Player of the Year
Goalie: Juli Liebig – Longwood
Defense: Lily Graham – Davidson
Midfield: Cara O'Brian – Longwood
Attack: Grace Gaeng – High Point
Coach of the Year: Lyndsey Boswell – High Point

By Tiffany White, Sports Information Assistant

VISIT: HOWARD UNIVERSITY
VISIT: HOWARDBISON

HU's Lackey Scores Winning Goal in Sudden Death Overtime

 Midfielder Courtland Lackey

WASHINGTON, D.C. – For nearly three hours amongst 80 shots, 23 groundballs, and 38 saves the Lady Bison lacrosse team battled back and fourth with the Fresno State, ending every period in a tie, until quadruple-overtime where junior Courtland Lackey found the back of the net to give Howard (4-11, 0-7 NLC) the thrilling 19-18 win in the team’s season finale.

In the first half the Bulldogs (0-13, 0-5 MPSF) jumped off to a 4-0 run and Lackey broke their skid with Howard’s first score of the game on a free position shot. Howard went on to produce two 3-0 runs before the end of the half, pulling the Bison up to a 7-7 tie with Fresno State by the end of the first.

Senior Desiree Cox – who entered her final game inside Greene Stadium ranked No. 16 in the nation in most goals scored with 43 – included two scores in the first. Cynithia Smalls also recorded a score in the opening half. Lackey went on an offensive attack, scoring the last three goals of the half, including an unassisted bomb into the back of the net with 0:18 left before halftime.

Exploding in the second half was Smalls who posted three quick scores for the Lady Bison. With 15 minutes into the second half Howard was on a 7-1 run and notching scores alongside Smalls in the run was Lackey, Cheryse Cox, Chastity Dailey and Desiree Cox, giving Howard the 14-8 lead.

Before Howard could close out the game in regulation, the Bulldogs fought back with a 8-2 run, which included the game-tying goal by FSU’s Kara Concheck who scored with 20 seconds left in regulation, pushing the game into overtime.

The Bulldogs scored first in the overtime, but Ashley Lawrence tied the game back at 17 a piece to give the Bison life for a second overtime. Smalls scored first for the Bison in the second-overtime, but FSU answered back with another tying goal.

Going into triple-overtime the game transitioned into a sudden death, in which the first team to score would take the game. The third-overtime went scoreless courtesy of HU goalkeeper Amber Meeks who blocked three shots from entering into the net. She also made a key save in the fourth-overtime, leaving room for Lackey to make her triumphant finish. Meeks recorded four saves in the overtime series and tallied 17 total in the game.

Lackey’s game-breaking goal was her sixth in the game and marked a career-high, tying Desiree Cox for most goals scored in a single game for the Lady Bison. Lackey also led the team defensively with five caused turnovers while Sydney Satchell and Ashley Foote finished with three. Foote also garnered seven draw controls for Howard.

Desiree Cox finished with four goals, marking her eight game of the season with at least four goals. Fellow senior Ashley Lawrence scored a goal and recorded three draw controls for the Lady Bison. Cheryse Cox finished with two scores and led the team in assists with two.

With the regular 2010-11 season in the books the Howard lacrosse team will prepare for the National Lacrosse Conference Championship in Davidson, N.C. set to begin on April 28 inside Richardson Stadium. For more information on Bison lacrosse during the conference tournament, visit www.howard-bison.com.

By Tiffany White, Sports Information Assistant
VISIT: HOWARD UNIVERSITY
VISIT: HOWARDBISON

Howard U. Ends Road Campaign with 16-6 Loss to Davidson

DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Lady Bison lacrosse team closed out their six-game road tour with a 16-6 loss to Davidson on Sunday afternoon at Richardson Stadium. Senior Desiree Cox led Howard (3-9, 0-5 National Lacrosse Conference) with the most goals, scoring four in the conference loss.

Cox bounced back from the team's previous meeting on the road against High Point where the senior was shutout for the first time in the entire season. The 2010 NLC Player of the Year now has 38 goals on the year and has amassed 40 points.

Also posting scores for the Bison was Courtland Lackey and Cynithia Smalls. Lackey scored within the final minute of the first half, giving the Bison their third goal of the game. HU trailed Davidson (3-9, 2-2 NLC) 11-3 by halftime. Lackey also posted Howard's only assist in the game, and the midfielder is currently tied first on the team in assists with four alongside junior Cheryse Cox.


Videographer: Davidson Athletics; Highlights of Davidson Women's LAX vs. Howard Lady Bison 4/3/2011

In the second half Davidson tallied two goals within the first six minutes. Shortly after Desiree Cox posted her third goal and kicked off a Howard scoring run. Smalls scored with 17:29 on the clock and Cox racked her fourth goal with 12:53 left in regulation.

The Howard rally would not be enough to overcome the 10 point deficit however, and Davidson went on to score three additional goals by the close of the game.

Howard, however, managed to temporarily contain Davidson's offense as they held their NLC opponent to a 5-3 scoring advantage in the second half. Both teams went even in draw controls with 12 a piece, but Howard surrendered the advantage in groundballs (22-14) and shots (33-21). Ashley Foote led Howard with four groundballs while Cox racked in nine shots for the Bison and Lackey came in second with five.

HU goalkeeper Amber Meeks posted 10 saves on the day, bringing her season total to 132 (.419).

The Howard lacrosse team will return home on April 9 to face off against NLC opponent Jacksonville in the nation's capitol and look to extend their winning streak at home to three games. For more information on the Howard lacrosse team visit www.howard-bison.com

Tiffany White, Sports Information Assistant
Howard University

Howard Lady Bison Fall to Longwood Lancers, 16-4

FARMVILLE, VA. – The Howard women’s lacrosse team failed to muster their first road win as they fell to Longwood, 16-4. The game’s finish marked Howard’s (3-6) second National Lacrosse Conference (NLC) loss of the season after HU was previously taken down by Presbyterian earlier in the year.

The Lady Bison were unable to keep an offensive pace with Longwood (6-3) who nearly doubled Howard’s 19 shots with 36 of their own. Longwood spread their scoring attack throughout their roster as 12 Lancers tallied a goal against the Bison, four of which scored twice. Bison goal keeper Amber Meeks generated 11 saves by the conclusion of the match.

Keeping HU afloat was senior Desiree Cox who scored all of Howard’s four goals. Cox topped the day with 11 shots for the Bison, which led both teams as did her four goals scored.



Cox currently leads the team with 33 goals and 67 shots, boasting an 82.1 shot-on-goal percentage.

Sydney Satchell and Courtland Lackey each garnered a team-high of four groundballs in the match. Lackey also zipped three shots, including one shot on goal, and led the Lady Bison defensively with five caused turnovers.

Up next the Howard lacrosse team will challenge fellow NLC opponent Liberty University and seek to obtain their first conference and road win. The Lady Bison will take on Liberty on Sunday, March 27 at 3 p.m. Visit howard-bison.com for the latest updates on the Lady Bison lacrosse team.

LADY BISON LAX REMAINING GAMES:

Mar. 27 at Liberty * 3:00 PM
Apr. 1 at High Point * 5:00 PM
Apr. 3 at Davidson * 1:00 PM
Apr. 9 (SATURDAY) Jacksonville * 1:00 PM GREENE STADIUM
Apr. 16 at Detroit Mercy * 12:00 PM
Apr. 20 (WEDNESDAY) Fresno St. 7:00 PM, GREENE STADIUM

Tiffany White, Sports Information Assistant
Howard University

Lacrosse is Cool...Come out to Greene Stadium April 9 & 20 for Bison LAX

Women LAX: Longwood vs. California Highlights

HU Bison Denied First Road Win Against CCSU

NEW BRITAIN, CONN. — The Howard lacrosse team failed to record their first win on the road on Friday afternoon after dropping 10-20 at the hands of Central Connecticut State. With the loss, the Lady Bison fell to a 3-5 season record.

Bouncing back from her lowest-scoring game of the season with one goal against St. Francis (Pa.) was senior Desiree Cox who mustered four goals in Howard’s loss. Courtland Lackey tied Cox for most Bison goals while junior Cheyrese Cox and Cynithia Smalls recorded the remaining two goals.

Smalls was the first to get on the board for Howard, scoring unassisted seven minutes into the first half, slimming Central Connecticut (5-2) to a 3-1 lead. The Lady Bison struggled to catch up with the Blue Devils who went on to score four unanswered goals within the opening 20 minutes of play.

Lackey chimed in with HU’s second, and her first, goal of the game with 9:21 on the first period clock. Shortly after Lackey gave the Lady Bison hope to close in on the Blue Devils after notching back to back scores late in the first half. Desiree, who is normally Howard’s leadoff scorer, remained scoreless until 3:18 was left in the first half. Her score edged the Lady Bison within six goals by the close of the half.

Despite the energetic burst produced late in the first half by Lackey and Desiree, the Bison came up short in the second half as they were outscored by the Blue Devils 5-9. Three of those five goals came from Desiree, Howard’s leading scorer.

Howard goal keeper Amber Meeks recorded seven saves against Central Connecticut’s 27 shots on goal. Overall the Lady Bison were outshot 34-27, despite maintaining a fair trade in draw controls as CCSU narrowly topped Howard with a 17-15 advantage. Howard slightly exceeded the Blue Devils in turnovers (15-16), but perfectly matched their opponent in ground balls (21-21).

The difference in the game was a matter of shooting percentage as the Bison converted 10-of-26 shots on goal into points on the board, while CCSU racked in 20-of-27. In the end, Howard shot 37 percent, which wasn’t enough to master the Blue Devils who recorded 16 saves and managed a 58.8 shooting percentage.

The Lady Bison will return to action in search of their first road win as they travel to face Longwood on Friday, March 25 at 4 p.m. For more information of the Howard lacrosse team visit Howard-Bison.com

Tiffany White
Sports Information Assistant
Howard University