Courtesy Fitchburg State Sports Information

The Fitchburg State women's lacrosse team collected the MASCAC's first annual Sportsmanship Award, as selected by the Conference office.

This unique award honors an individual or team who has distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior on and off the field. Each nominee must have demonstrated consistent values of caring, fairness, civility, honesty, integrity and responsibility in their daily participation of intercollegiate athletics. In addition to sportsmanship, all-nominees must also demonstrate good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting and must be in good academic standing.

This season, Fitchburg State set the standard for other teams both on the Fitchburg State campus and within the MASCAC as the Falcons lacrosse team served as mentors to Molly McGaffigan, a high school lacrosse player who survived a recent battle with ovarian cancer. The team's efforts to promote awareness of ovarian cancer extended on the field and beyond as members of the team wore teal colored ribbons in honor of Molly. After completion of the 2009 season, the Lady Falcons traveled to Nashua, N.H., where they provided an enthusiastic cheering section for Molly during one of her home lacrosse contests.

The lacrosse team's generosity also extended to other volunteer activities throughout the Fitchburg State campus. Several members of the team served as MASCAC Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) representatives and provided leadership for other Fitchburg State volunteer activities. As a team, the Falcons made a positive difference in the lives of people both in the Fitchburg community and the community at large.