SELINSGROVE, Pa. – Following the first Middle Atlantic Conference championship in program history, the Susquehanna University women’s lacrosse team has been honored with four MAC first-team All-Stars while first-year head coach Deb Ranieri has been named the conference’s Coach of the Year.

Seniors Krista O’Brien and Liz Cipoletti are joined by juniors Kelly Smith and Giulia Umile on the squad, which was voted upon by the conference’s nine head coaches.

O’Brien (Sykesville, MD/Liberty H.S.), an attack, was named to the first team for the second straight season after leading the Crusaders with 40 goals and 22 assists for 62 points, becoming the first player in program history to surpass 40 goals and 60 points in three different seasons. O’Brien, who ranks eighth in the MAC in goals and points and ninth in assists, is Susquehanna’s career leader in goals (169), assists (66) and points (235).

Cipoletti (Fort Salonga, NY/Northport H.S.), a defender, earned MAC All-Star honors for the first time in her career after ranking fifth in the conference in caused turnovers (35) and sixth in ground balls (82). She also scored eight goals and dished out two assists for 10 points while playing in every minute of all 16 games. Cipoletti is tied for fourth in program history with 29 assists and is 10th with 65 points.

Smith (New Egypt, NJ/Allentown H.S.), a midfielder, earned her first-ever MAC All-Star selection after tallying 29 goals and four assists for 33 points in 15 games. She scored at least one goal in each game in which she played and needs one goal to become the ninth different player in Susquehanna history with 30 goals in a season. Smith also became the ninth player to score 50 career goals when she tallied three times in an 11-10 overtime win over Drew in the MAC title game last Saturday.

Umile (Blue Bell, PA/Gwynedd Mercy Academy) earned MAC first-team All-Star honors for the third straight season after leading the MAC in goals against average (7.76) and ranking second in save percentage (.603). Umile made 10 or more saves in 12 different games this season, including 15 saves apiece in one-goal wins over Scranton and Drew. She is currently ranked 23rd in Division III in goals against average and 21st in save percentage, and holds every Susquehanna single-season and career goalkeeping record, including 601 career saves and 37 wins.

Ranieri, a former assistant at Division III power College of New Jersey, led the Crusaders to a 12-4 record and the first MAC title and NCAA berth in program history this season to become the first Susquehanna coach to earn Coach of the Year honors in women’s lacrosse. A 1990 graduate of East Stroudsburg, Ranieri served as a women’s lacrosse captain and was named squad MVP honors as a senior.

The Crusaders will face off with 11-time national champion College of New Jersey in NCAA Division III Championship second-round action at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday at Gettysburg College.