Samantha Hewitt became the second Saint Francis women's lacrosse player to earn Northeast Conference (NEC) Rookie of the Year honors, marking the third time in program history that the team has earned a significant end-of-the-year major award.

The Red Flash had four All-NEC first-team performers to tie Wagner with the most first-teamers. Senior Chyler Espino earned her second first-team honor, while juniors Julia Givens, Brooke Lacey, and sophomore Elizabeth Garcia received their first honor on the first team. Along with being named NEC Rookie of the Year, Hewitt earned NEC All-Rookie team honors.

Hewitt registered a goal in 12 of 16 games and a point in every game after her collegiate debut against Akron. She registered multiple goals in a match six times, with at least three goals five times and a career-high four tallies three times (at Duquesne, February 22, Central Michigan, April 7, and Delaware State, April 12). In addition, she dished out two assists five times and posted a career-high six points against Central Michigan. She is the eighth player in NEC history to earn NEC Rookie of the Week honors at least four times. Hewitt is fifth in assists (1.00) and sixth in points (2.63).

Espino, who was named to the All-NEC first team in 2023, helped anchor the defense, which ranked second in the NEC in goals against average and second on the team in draw controls (51) and ground balls (38). For her career, Espino became the fourth player in program history to register 100 ground balls and 100 draw controls and sits in the Top-10 in ground balls, draw controls, and caused turnovers. Espino ranks ninth in ground balls (2.38) and 10th in draw controls (3.19) in league games.

Givens earns an All-NEC nod for the second straight year after being selected to the second team as a sophomore. Givens ranks second on the team in goals (31), third in points (32), and eighth in goals (1.94) in the NEC. She has registered a point in 14 of the 16 matches and multiple tallies nine times with four games with at least three markers, two with at least four, and a career-high six goals against LIU on April 19 when she was named the NEC Player of the Week.

Lacey receives her first All-NEC honor after leading the team with 35 goals and 10 assists for 45 points. The junior is fourth in points (3.00), fourth in shots (5.67), and fourth in goals (2.33) in the NEC. She registered a point in all 15 contests with 10 games with at least two goals, five games with at least three tallies, three matches with at least four markers, and a career-high seven goals against Duquesne to earn NEC Player of the Week honors.

Garcia helped anchor the defense with Espino and set a single-season program record with 33 caused turnovers. The sophomore leads the league in caused turnovers (2.20) and ranks second in ground balls (3.20). Garcia is 10th in ground balls and 17th in caused turnovers in the nation. She recorded 11 games with multiple ground balls and seven games with numerous caused turnovers. She registered five caused turnovers three times (at Kent State, March 7; at Howard, April 9; Delaware State, April 12) to sit second on the single-game chart and is only the second player in team history to have at least two games with five caused turnovers. 

Coughlin picks up her first All-NEC second-team honor after leading the NEC in saves (8.81) and ranking second in goals against average (10.42), second in saves percentage (.458), and seventh in ground balls (2.44). Coughlin ranks 27th in goals against average, 33rd in saves per game, and 33rd in save percentage in NCAA Division I. The netminder registered double figures in saves six times with a season-high 16 stops against Lindenwood on February 27. She is the program's all-time career leader in goals against average (11.04) and sits sixth in saves (313), while her goals against average for the season currently is the best in program history.

Hewitt joins Bella Fisher in 2023 as the only other NEC Rookie of the Year in team history. That season, Autumn McHenry was selected as the NEC Midfielder of the Year for the only three major awards in program history.

Espino becomes the third player to earn All-NEC first-team honors twice in her career, joining former teammate McHenry (2022, 2023) and Peyton Le Conte (2018, 2021). Givens is the third player to earn a first and second-team distinction in her career, joining Le Conte and McHenry. 

Before the four All-NEC first-team selections, the team earned a pair in 2018, 2021, 2023, and 2024. The four honors bring the total to 15 times a first-team honor bestowed to a Red Flash player.

It is the second time in team history that Saint Francis has had four named to a single team after the 2023 squad had a quartet of second-teamers. Coughlin's second-team recognition brings the total to 13 second-team performers. 

Hewitt becomes the eighth All-Rookie selection in team history.

Saint Francis will make its third-straight NEC Tournament appearance on Thursday, when it will face top seed Stonehill. The game will start at 4 p.m.