Northborough, MA — The Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association released its annual all-region teams Friday and for the third time in program history, including second straight, the State University of New York at New Paltz was represented on the All-Empire Region list.
 
The Hawks were honored with a program most three selects to the IWLCA All-Region squad, including the first ever, First-Team All-Empire Region pick in SUNYAC Attacker of the Year Lexi Atwater. Kaitlyn Shaw became the first ever three-time recipient in program history, as she landed on second team for back-to-back seasons, while Morgan Atwater secured her first all-region nod following her first SUNYAC Midfielder of the Year selection this spring.
 
Lexi Atwater (junior, attack/Brighton, NY/Brighton HS) had a breakout junior campaign for SUNY New Paltz, becoming the team's top offensive threat with her quickness and ability to catch and shoot inside. She tallied five games where she scored six or more goals, one of which was against No. 19 nationally ranked Colorado College, proving herself as one of the best in the country with the performance. Along with scoring six of the Hawks' eight goals, she notched the game-winner with seconds left to secure the 8-7 victory to help SUNY New Paltz attain its first ever victory over a nationally ranked opponent.
 
Atwater finished the year leading the team in goals with a career-high 67, while tying Shaw for tops in points with 73. Her 67 goals scored landed her 36th in the country, along with second on the single-season program record books, while her 73 points were the fourth most in the team's single season history list.  
 
She recorded a career-high seven goals in an early season win over Utica, while totaling a career-high eight points twice in wins over the Pioneers and Manhattanville. Also, a huge contributor on the circle, Atwater totaled 31 draw controls on the year, while adding 29 ground balls and worked hard on the Hawks' ride and provided 13 caused turnovers throughout her 18 games played and started in 2025.
 
Morgan Atwater (junior, midfielder/Brighton, NY/Brighton HS) off the heels of her first SUNYAC Midfielder of the Year honor and first-team all-conference selection, was named to her first All-Empire Region recognition alongside Shaw on second team.
 
The junior was critical in the team's success in all facets: offensively, defensively, in transition and on the draw. Starting in all 18 games, Atwater was fourth on the team in points, totaling 49 on 41 goals and eight assists. She registered four or more points six times, including a five-point performance in the Hawks' dominant SUNYAC Quarterfinal win over Fredonia where she tallied a team-leading four goals and an assist to help push SUNY New Paltz to its second consecutive conference semifinal, while adding a ground ball and a game-high seven draw controls.
 
She finished the season with 33 ground balls and 21 caused turnovers, while her 61 draw controls ranked second on the team only behind Shaw and tied for fifth on the program's single season draw control record books.
 
Kaitlyn Shaw (grad, midfielder/Rye Brook, NY/Blind Brook HS), meanwhile, concludes her career as the most decorated women's lacrosse player in school history. She took home her third All-Empire Region honor after being selected to the second team, just three years removed from being the team's first ever All-Region pick as a sophomore in 2022.
 
Since then, she has captained the program to new heights as they won more games during her tenure than any other time in program history (47), played in more postseason contests (7) and won more playoff games (2) than any time since the inception of the program in 1998. During that time, Shaw has become the record holder for six different categories, including single game goals (9), single game points (12), single season goals (70), single season points (96), career goals (242) and career points (311), while landing fourth in assists (69), second in ground balls (152) and draw controls (186) and fourth in caused turnovers (80). Her 311 goals leaves her 10th all-time in SUNYAC history — eighth most without counting Morrisville and Canton who recently joined ahead of this past year.
 
In her final stint in the orange and blue, she led SUNY New Paltz to its second straight (and only) back-to-back semifinal appearance after tying for the team lead in points (73) while registering 57 goals — second on the team — and 16 assists — fourth on the team. Her team-leading 75 draw controls ranked second most in program history. She scooped 42 ground balls, second most for the Hawks in 2025, and finished with 32 caused turnovers — third most this past season and first among midfielders.
 
A total of 256 student-athletes were picked on the IWLCA Division III All-Region team with 16 selected on first and 16 selected on second teams on eight regions, respectively. With the all-region all three Hawks are eligible to be considered for the IWLCA All-American list, which will be released May 23.
 
Lexi and Morgan Atwater, and Kaitlyn Shaw were joined by three others from the SUNYAC, including Cortland's Lexi Caron, Toni Cashman and Oswego's Madison Davis who all landed on second team. 
 
View the full IWLCA All-Region list by clicking here.


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