Bucknell University Athletics
Four Women's Lacrosse Players Named to All-Patriot League Team
4/27/2001 8:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
April 27, 2001
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Bucknell senior Ashley Evans (Millersville, Md./Severna Park), junior Melissa Montefusco (Chatham, N.J./Chatham), and sophomores Nicole Kallis (Stevensville, Md./St. Mary's) and Suzanne Raffaele (Springfield, Pa./Archmere Academy) have been named to the 2001 women's lacrosse All-Patriot League Team. Evans was the lone Bison on the league's first-team, while Montefusco, Kallis and Raffaele were all members of the second-team. The all-league team and major individual award winners were announced at a banquet held by the Patriot League in conjunction with the first-ever 2001 women's lacrosse tournament at Lafayette Friday evening.
Evans earns her first selection to the all-league first-team in her senior season. A tri-captain in 2001, she was a member of the second team as a junior. Evans ended the year as the team's leading scorer with career-highs in goals (36) and assists (15). Among Patriot League players, she was third in the league in overall points per game and assists per game. Evans closes out her collegiate career with 99 goals and 33 assists. Her goal total ranks her fourth on Bucknell's all-time career goals list, while her assist numbers place her fifth on the all-time helpers list.
Montefusco makes her second-straight appearance on the second team. Just a junior, Montefusco became Bucknell's all-time career assist leader earlier this season. With 23 helpers on the year, one shy of tying the school single-season record, Montefusco increased her career total to 46, setting a new standard at Bucknell. The old career assist record was 42. In addition, Montefusco scored eight goals on the year, matching her career-high for points in a season with 31. At the conclusion of Bucknell's season, Montefusco was ranked 13th in the nation in assists per game with 1.53.
Kallis is also a two-time member of the All-Patriot League second team, earning the honor in her rookie season. Seeing time as the Bison goalkeeper in 14 of 15 games, Kallis started 10 contests in 2001. She recorded 171 saves in 740 minutes of action for a .617 save percentage, ranking her fifth in the country in that category. In addition, Kallis' 8.59 goals against average was the 19th-best average in the nation. She was second in the conference in both of those categories.
Raffaele rounds out the Bucknell All-Patriot League squad with her second-straight appearance on the second team. Raffaele, the 2000 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, picked up right where she had left off as a freshman, leading the team in scoring through the first 11 games of her sophomore campaign. With 32 goals and five assists for 37 points with at least four games remaining in the season, Raffaele suffered a season-ending knee injury in a 9-8 overtime loss to league regular-season champion Lafayette. Despite not finishing out the season, Raffaele's 2.91 goals per game average is still 18th in the country. Through her first two seasons, Raffaele has tallied 67 goals and nine assists.
Bucknell finished its season on a four-game win streak, the third longest streak in the nation, ending the year 7-8 overall and 2-3 in the Patriot League.
