Hereu honored as top newcomer, five on All-SCIAC teams
ORANGE, Calif. – Anna Hereu made program history and headlined five All-SCIAC selections for the Chapman University women's lacrosse team. Hereu became the Panthers' first-ever major SCIAC award winner as the conference's coaches picked her as the Newcomer of the Year.
Two more Panthers landed All-SCIAC First Team honors alongside Hereu. Emily Allen earned the honor for the second year in a row and Sophie Pelton earned her first career All-SCIAC recognition with their respective First Team selections. Vanessa Topete and Corinn Valeri each were selected to the Second Team.
Hereu, a freshman from Wellesley, Mass., played every second of the 2022 season in goal, leading the SCIAC with 118 saves during the conference season. She posted an 11.20 goals against average and ranked second in the SCIAC with a 46.8 save percentage. Hereu made double digit saves in nine of Chapman's overall contests this year. She set her career-best with 15 saves against nationally-ranked Pomona-Pitzer on April 27.
In her first full season, Allen made her way on to some of Chapman's career lists for assists and draw controls. The attacker from Danville, Calif., ranked fifth in the SCIAC this season in points and assists during SCIAC matches. She scored 25 goals against SCIAC opponents, assisted on 16 goals and picked up 32 draw controls.
Pelton, a defender from Redwood City, Calif., anchored the Panther's defensive efforts, starting in every contest this year. She caused seven turnovers and picked up 18 groundballs during SCIAC matches this season. The Panthers ranked third in the SCIAC with an 11.20 GAA as a team.
Topete and Valeri represented the Panthers' midfield on the All-SCIAC teams. Topete picked up 23 draw controls and nine groundballs in SCIAC matches while scoring 16 goals and recording a pair of assists. Valeri missed the last three matches with an injury but still scored 14 goals and distributed 12 assists during the SCIAC season.
The Panthers earned the No. 3 seed in this week's SCIAC Tournament after finishing the regular season 11-5 overall and 7-5 in the SCIAC. They take on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Claremont, Calif.
By Steven Olveda
Sports Information Director
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