Hempstead, NY - Hofstra Head Women's Lacrosse Coach Shannon Smith was named CAA Co-Coach of the Year and Nikki Mennella earned CAA Attacker of the Year honors to highlight the Pride's conference award winners, it was announced today.

In addition to those awards, Mennella and Christine Dannenfelser earned All-CAA First Team honors, Kayleigh Bender and Madeleine Rudolph were named to the All-CAA Second Team, and Charli Joyce and Shannon Steck were selected to the CAA All-Rookie Team.

Mennella earns Attacker of the Year honors for the second consecutive season. She is the first Hofstra player to repeat as a major award winner since April Iannetta was named CAA Defensive Player of the Year in 2013 and 2014. Mennella is also the program's 12th different player to earn a major award since Hofstra joined the CAA in 2002.

Smith was named CAA Coach of the Year for the second time, having previously earned the honor in 2015. She becomes the third Hofstra recipient of the award, joining Shelley Klaes, who was honored in 2005.

Smith led Hofstra to 10 wins during the regular season and a 6-1 mark in CAA play. The 10 wins are the most for the Pride since the 2019 team won 12 games.

It was another outstanding regular season for Mennella, who recorded 84 points on 59 goals and 25 assists, while adding 64 draw controls, 18 ground balls, and five caused turnovers. She led Hofstra in goals, assists, and points. A four-time CAA Offensive Player of the Week this season, Mennella ranks first in the conference in goals per game and points per game, while also ranking fifth in assists per game and seventh in draw controls per game.

Dannenfelser continued her outstanding career with a strong regular season, tallying team highs of 40 ground balls and 35 caused turnovers, while ranking third on the team with 37 draw controls. She ranks fifth in the CAA in both ground balls and caused turnovers per game.

The Pride's second-leading scorer, Bender totaled 48 points on 34 goals and 14 assists during the regular season. She ranks second on the team in goals and third in assists, while placing third in the CAA in goals per game, fourth in points per game, and ninth in assists per game.

Rudolph had an outstanding season in the draw circle, recording a team-high 87 draw controls. She ranks third in the CAA in draw controls per game, and her 2026 total currently ranks as the fourth-highest single-season mark in program history.

Joyce totaled 31 points on 18 goals and 13 assists during her rookie regular season. The CAA Rookie of the Week on April 13, she recorded a pair of hat tricks and appeared in all 16 games.

Steck enters the postseason after tallying four hat tricks during the regular season and recording 26 points on 24 goals and two assists. The CAA Rookie of the Week on March 9, she played in all 16 regular season games with four starts.