Nationally ranked No. 16 Hamilton College's Lauren Sokol '12 (Colts Neck, N.J./Peddie School) and Rachel Friedman '13 (Farifield, Conn./Fairfield Warde HS) were selected to the Division III Empire Region all-region team by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association on May 18.
Sokol was voted to the first team at defense and Friedman made the second team as a midfielder. A total of 32 athletes were honored in the Empire Region.
Sokol is all-region for the second time after she earned first team honors in 2010. She was named a first team All-American after she helped lead the Continentals to the NCAA title game that same year. Sokol was a 2012 NESCAC all-conference first team selection. She is ranked seventh in the conference with 45 draw controls and ninth with 24 caused turnovers.
Friedman is all-region for the second straight year after she was named to the first team in 2011. The 2012 NESCAC all-conference second team selection ranks fourth in the conference with 53 draw controls, is tied for eighth with 51 points and is tied for ninth with 38 goals. She is fourth on Hamilton's all-time list with 149 career goals.
Sokol and Friedman helped lead Hamilton (7-10 overall, 4-6 NESCAC) to the 2012 NESCAC Championship semifinals as the No. 7 seed in the Continentals' first year in the conference. Hamilton defeated Colby College 9-4 in the quarterfinals on April 28 before the Continentals fell 9-8 in overtime to eventual conference champion Trinity College on May 5. Hamilton competed in the Liberty League for lacrosse from 1996 to 2011.
