EMMITSBURG, Md. – Aly Jost, a member of the Mount St. Mary's women's lacrosse team, has been named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Defensive Player of the Year, announced on Thursday.

Jost and Katelyn Catanese (Huntington, N.Y./St. Anthony's) were named to the All-NEC first team while senior Caitlin Preas (Rockville, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel) and sophomore Lucy Pompa (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) earned spots on the All-NEC second team.

Jost, a sophomore defender, led the Mount with 43 ground balls and 17 caused turnovers in her sophomore campaign. The sophomore, who ranks second in the NEC with 2.69 ground balls per game, helped anchor the Mountaineers defense that allowed six-of-eight NEC teams to single-digit goal totals this season. The sophomore also notched her first points of her career this season after notching her first collegiate goal against George Washington on Mar. 11 and then dished out her first career assist against Central Connecticut State on Apr. 3. In the fourth year of the award, Jost becomes the second Mount St. Mary's player to be tabbed NEC Defensive Player of the Year after Jacqui Ricca took home the honor in 2007. Jost also earned her second All-NEC first-team selection to become the seventh player in program history to earn two All-NEC first-team honors. For her career, Jost has 91 ground balls, 41 caused turnovers and 21 draw controls along with one goal and one assist for two points.

Catanese, a senior attacker, became the first player in program history to nab three All-NEC first-team awards after also garnering a first-team selection in 2007 and 2008. The senior leads the team with 42 goals and six assists for 48 points while also contributing 26 ground balls, 29 draw controls and 14 caused turnovers. The senior ranks fifth in the league in goals per game (2.62) and 10th in points per game (3.0). She tied a career-high with six tallies against Fairfield on Mar. 14 and against Robert Morris on Sunday.

Catanese will leave the Mount as one of the best offensive players in program history, currently ranking first in shots (415), second in goals (169), second in points (194) and third in draw controls (118). She also holds the program and league record for goals in a season with 64 markers in 2008.

Preas, a senior defender, notches her second All-NEC second-team honor after earning second-team recognition last season. The senior posted three goals and two assists for five points while adding 20 ground balls, 16 draw controls and eight caused turnovers in her senior campaign. Preas registered a career-best two goals and four ground balls against Long Island on Mar. 20. For her career, Preas has 12 tallies and seven assists for 19 points along with 72 ground balls, 29 caused turnovers and 48 draw controls. Preas was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Week and the Womenslacrosse.com National Player of the Week for the week of Apr. 9-15, 2007 as a sophomore.

Pompa, a sophomore midfielder, garners her first conference honor with her second-team selection in 2009. Pompa ranks second on the team in ground balls (30), draw controls (24) and caused turnovers (14), and also has 10 goals and one assist for 11 points. The sophomore notched her first collegiate hat trick and a career-high seven ground balls and six caused turnovers against Saint Francis (Pa.) on Mar. 22. Pompa has 16 tallies and one assist for 17 points while also contributing 52 ground balls, 22 caused turnovers and 48 draw controls in her career.

Catanese became the first Mountaineer to receive three All-NEC first-team selections while Jost (2008, 2009), Christine Fee (2000, 2001), Kim Keene (2003, 2004), Erin LaMotte (2004, 2005), Jen Davison (2004, 2005) and Naomi Campano Radio (2004, 2005) each earned two All-NEC first-team honors. Catanese is the fifth player to earn three All-NEC awards, joining Davison, Radio, Kelly Nangle and Casey Paris as three-time recipients.

Mount St. Mary's returns to action on Friday against Quinnipiac in the NEC Tournament hosted by Sacred Heart. Game time is 2:30 p.m.