MINNEAPOLIS - The Midwest Lacrosse Conference has announced it's Women's Lacrosse All-Conference selections for the 2024 season, and several University of Northwestern student-athletes were among them. The Eagles, who finished the season 6-9 overall and 1-4 in the MLC, had one First Team selection, four Second Team selections, and one Honorable Mention, in addition to their All-Sportsmanship representative.
Maren Reu (Sioux Falls, S.D./Sioux Falls Christian) is Northwestern's lone First Team All-MLC honoree after anchoring the Eagles' defense in 2024. The senior was a Second Team selection in both 2021 and 2022. She finished second on the team and fourth in the conference in caused turnovers with 35, and fifth on the team in ground balls with 29. Reu's 88 career caused turnovers are third-most in program history and her 100 ground balls are eighth-most.
Daisy Koffler (Pine City, Minn./Pine City) returned to UNW in 2024 for one final season as a graduate student and it proved to be worth it, as she was named to the All-MLC Second Team for the second consecutive season. Koffler reset the program's single-season saves record with 149, which was second-most in the MLC in 2024. Her resume also includes the program record for goals allowed average in a single season (8.32, set in 2023), in addition to the second-most career wins (15) and career saves (270).
Reegan Duininck (Prinsburg, Minn./Central Minnesota Christian) was also named to the Second Team for her efforts on Northwestern's back end in 2024. The senior had the second-most ground balls on the team (46) and third-most caused turnovers on the team (26) in her final season in purple. Those numbers ranked fifth and seventh among conference participants, respectively. She also had the third-most caused turnovers and fifth-most ground balls in MLC games this season. This is the first All-Conference honor for Duininck, who finished her career with 104 ground balls, good for seventh in program history.
Joining Koffler and Duininck on the All-MLC Second Team is
Cara Smith (Watertown, Wis./Watertown), whose name is all over the Northwestern record books. This is the second time the senior has been named to the Second Team (2021), sandwiching a pair of First Team selections in 2022 and 2023. Smith's 56 ground balls (tied for eighth-most in program history), 36 caused turnovers (tied for sixth-most in program history) and 44 draw controls all led UNW this season. She also tied for the team lead in goals (24) and shots on goal (42), and finished second in assists (12) and points (36). Smith's career accolades are longer than a grocery store receipt. She finished her career as the program leader in caused turnovers (166) and ground balls (255), fourth in draw controls (159), free position goals (14) and assists (37), and fifth in career goals (85), points (122), shots (217) and shots on goal (163).
The final Second Team selection was
Abby Scheel (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area), who broke Northwestern's single-season assists record this year with 29. It is the first time the senior has earned an All-Conference honor in her career after leading the team in assists and points (41). Her 29 assists were third among MLC players in 2024. Scheel also finishes her career second in program history in assists (61), and sixth in points (119), shots (182), shots on goal (128) and ground balls (105).
Ainsley Thompson (Apple Valley, Minn./Eastview) was named Honorable Mention Attacker after a strong senior season on the offensive end. She led the team in shots (62) and free position shots (12), and tied for the lead in goals (24) and shots on goal (42). She also was second on the team in free position goals (4), and fourth in assists (7) and points (31). It is the first time Thompson has received All-Conference recognition, after finishing seventh in conference goals, eighth in conference shots and tenth in conference points.
Gabrielle Milroy (Superior, Wis./Lakeview Christian Academy) was named the teams All-Sportsmanship Team representative.
