SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (July 25, 2024) – The Western New England women's lacrosse team has seen seven of their own honored by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA), being named to the IWLCA Academic Honor Roll, while the team picks up the IWLCA Academic Honor Squads accolade for the tenth consecutive season.

The IWLCA has honored 325 schools across NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, while also including schools from the NAIA division. To qualify for the IWLCA Academic Honor Squads, a women's lacrosse team must have posted a 3.20 grade point average or higher for the 2023–2024 academic year. The Golden Bears women's lacrosse team has been awarded the Academic Squads honor for the tenth straight season.

Seven members of the Western New England women's lacrosse team have been honored by the IWLCA to the Academic Honor Roll, which features student-athletes with junior, senior, or graduate student status in the classroom who have earned a cumulative academic grade point average of 3.50 or greater. Megan Spedaliere (Ossining, N.Y.), Faith Graveline (Attleboro, Mass.), Ally Ferraro (Hamden, Conn.), Riley Franzo (Canyon Lake, Calif.), Julia Roman (Oswego, N.Y.), Keegan McMahon (Rocky Hill, Conn.), and Emmy Burns (Billerica, Mass.) were all named to the Academic Honor Roll for the Golden Bears this season.

Spedaliere picks up her first honor in her first season of eligibility to receive the award. The junior played in all 19 games for Western New England during the 2024 season, scoring five goals while picking up six assists, good for 11 total points on the year. The Ossining, New York, native took 13 shots for Western New England, placing 11 on goal while picking up six ground balls and five caused turnovers.

Graveline made 14 appearances between the pipes for Western New England in 2024, playing in just short of 400 minutes of action. The senior made 65 saves while making seven starts on the year.

Ferraro helped lead the offense for Western New England women's lacrosse this season, scoring 46 goals while putting together a team-high 28 assists, good for 74 points on the year. Ferraro took 129 shots toward goal in 2024 while putting 93 on goal. The senior scored three game-winning goals for the Golden Bears during the year while also scooping 30 ground balls and causing 16 turnovers.

Franzo took the lead in goal this season for the Golden Bears, winning eight of her 12 games started. Franzo recorded a team-high 94 saves while collecting a .485% save percentage in 14 total games played, making 12 starts. Franzo supported a 9.96 goals against average throughout the season, leading WNE into the CCC semifinals for the fifth straight season.

Roman helped lock down the defense for WNE this season while also contributing on the offensive end, as well. Roman played in 11 games for the Golden Bears this season, making eight starts. The senior scored two goals while picking up one assist, good for three total points on the season. Roman scooped 13 ground balls while collecting six caused turnovers and had three draw controls.

McMahon was the anchor for the Western New England women's lacrosse team on defense this season, playing in 16 games and making 13 starts. McMahon caused seven turnovers on the season while scooping 13 ground balls.

Burns was a key contributor to both the offense and defense for the Golden Bears this season. The senior scored 32 times while picking up 20 assists, good for 52 total points. Burns took 77 shots, putting up 52 shots on goal while scoring one game-winning goal, two goals while a player up, and two goals while a player down. On the defensive side of the ball, Burns caused a team-high 29 turnovers and picked up 40 ground balls on the year.

The seven Golden Bears were part of the 1,125 student-athletes from 201 different institutions on the 2024 IWLCA Division III Academic Honor Roll. Burns, Ferraro, Franzo, Graveline, and Roman were named to the Academic Honor Roll for the second consecutive season.