Mt. Ararat grad earns rookie of the year in college lacrosse

Topsham’s Evelyn Goudreau turned her first college lacrosse season into a conference honor, earning Little East Conference rookie of the year recognition after a freshman year at Plymouth State that pointed back to the strength of the Mt. Ararat and Maineiax pipeline.

The 2025 Mt. Ararat graduate finished second on Plymouth State with 41 goals and 11 assists for 52 points, then added All-LEC honorable mention recognition when the league announced its women’s lacrosse awards on May 5. Goudreau ranked eighth in the conference in goals and 11th in total points, production that came as Plymouth State finished 8-10 under fourth-year head coach Becky Dale. She also delivered several of the season’s biggest individual bursts, including an eight-point game in a 23-7 win over Vermont State University Castleton on April 15 and her sixth hat trick of the season in an April 8 game at Southern Maine.

For Sagadahoc County, Goudreau’s leap from Mt. Ararat to a conference award does more than add another line to a résumé. It shows that a local player development path can carry a scorer from a Midcoast high school program, through club ball with Maineiax Lacrosse, and into immediate impact at the Division III level. That kind of transition matters for younger players in Topsham and surrounding towns, because it demonstrates that strong high school and club preparation can translate quickly once the competition gets faster and more physical.

Grace Joly followed a similar track in a different conference. The Windham product, now a first-year student at Colby-Sawyer College, was named Great Northeast Athletic Conference rookie of the year when the league announced its major awards on May 6. Joly had already established herself early, earning GNAC rookie of the week honors after her collegiate debut, when she scored her first goal, added two assists, four ground balls, a draw control and three caused turnovers. She later picked up another weekly honor after her first collegiate hat trick.

Colby-Sawyer said Joly kept building from there, including a five-goal performance with three assists, four draw controls and two caused turnovers in a GNAC game on March 7. The GNAC also noted that she totaled six goals in one week and helped Colby-Sawyer start 4-0. Her teammate Addison Glavin, also a first-year player, was named GNAC goalkeeper of the year.

The list of award winners included more Maine names, underscoring how often the state’s programs are feeding college success. St. Joseph’s College senior Celia Melanson was named GNAC attacker of the year after piling up 21 goals and 83 assists, while Ella Highbarger earned first-team all-conference honors for St. Joseph’s. University of Southern Maine graduate student Katelyn D’Appolonia, another Topsham native, was named Little East Conference midfielder of the year.