Trio from Golden Bear women's lacrosse named All-PSAC East Second Team

Steady improvement by the Kutztown University women's lacrosse team in 2022 came with postseason recognition for three players, as junior Cyrose Conteh (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) and freshmen Lailah ElBouazzaoui (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) and Sam Graf (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Hills) were named to the All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division Second Team.

Conteh, an offensive-minded midfielder during her first two seasons with the program, developed into a reliable defender and her unmatched speed was an asset in the Golden Bears' transition game under first-year head coach Kristen Nicholson. The Elizabethtown, Pa., native led KU with 22 caused turnovers, ranked second in draw controls with 40 and third in ground balls with 35. She started all 17 games and has now played and started in 33 over three seasons.

ElBouazzaoui burst on the scene with four multi-goal games to open her collegiate career. She netted a hat trick against Caldwell, March 3, before posting back-to-back five-goal performances at Lock Haven (March 5) and at Holy Family (March 9). The attack from Bridgewater, N.J., went on to register multiple goals in 12 of Kutztown's 17 games, including eight hat tricks. ElBouazzaoui led the Golden Bears with 43 goals (fifth most in a season in program history), shots (97) and draw controls (59). She was also the team's third-leading scorer with 46 points overall.

ElBouazzaoui became KU's first 40-goal scorer since Sarah Gabriele in 2018, but she wouldn't be the only one to reach that milestone this season. Graf, a fellow all-conference selection, joined her with a hat trick in the Bears' final game of the season at Shepherd.

The six-point effort against Shepherd on Saturday, April 30, capped an outstanding season by Graf, a game-changing midfielder from Wayne, N.J. She led all Kutztown players with 63 points, 21 assists, 14 free position goals and 75 shots on goal. Graf also ranked second in goals (42), second in total shots (95), second in caused turnovers (19), third in draw controls (39) and fifth in ground balls (29). The freshman amassed multiple goals and multiple assists in the same game five times over the course of the season and closed the campaign with consecutive six-point games at No. 4 West Chester, April 27, and at Shepherd, April 30.

Conteh, ElBouazzaoui and Graf are Kutztown's first all-conference picks since the PSAC started honoring Eastern and Western Division teams in 2021. Prior to the divisional structure, the last time the Golden Bears had three all-league players was in 2016 with Courtney O'Neill named All-PSAC First Team and Sarah Gabriele and Lauren Huggins named Third Team.