NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. – After climbing to second in
the final ILWomen/Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) poll of 2024, the Salisbury University women's lacrosse team received more good news as
Natalie Held was crowned the IWLCA Division III Defender of the Year, announced by the organization on Wednesday afternoon.
Held, a junior from Ellicott City, Md., was a key cog in a Salisbury defense that conceded a stingy 8.41 goals per game to lead the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference (C2C) and rank 28th nationally. The Sea Gulls also caused 11.86 miscues per game, leading the league and slotting 56th in Division III.
The Marriotts Ridge product started all 22 games for the Sea Gulls, corralling 83 draw controls while digging out 55 grounders and forcing 40 turnovers, all three being career-highs. Held led the team in each category, ranking second in the C2C in caused turnovers per game (1.82) and third in ground balls.
Held racked up the accolades in 2024. In addition to earning First-Team All-American honors from the
IWLCA and
USA Lacrosse Magazine as well as
First-Team All-Chesapeake Region accolades, Salisbury's top defensive presence collected three C2C defensive weekly awards and a pair of IWLCA Defensive Player of the Week mentions this season. Held also
took home the conference Defensive Player of the Year hardware for the second consecutive season.
Held is the first Sea Gull to claim the honor of Defender of the Year since
Carrie Hesen following the team's undefeated title run in 2021. Held becomes the 13th player in program history to claim a positional player of the year award.
Salisbury concluded the 2024 campaign with an 18-4 record, winning its 22nd conference championship and making the program's 10th appearance in the NCAA Division III National Championship game.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with the New Jersey Athletic Conference for football and men's and women's swimming, and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference for men's lacrosse. With over 500 student-athletes in 21 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have celebrated 23 team national championships, 24 individual national champions, 199 conference championships, and 45 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
