Feature: Lacrosse Standouts set for Career-Celebrating Victory Lap in Senior All-Star Game

SPARKS, Md. – A rare honor for two of the best in the 10-year history of Central Michigan lacrosse.

Defender Jozy Allen and goalkeeper Alexa Martel will play on Saturday in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Senior All-Star Game on Tierney Field at USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md.

The two Chippewas, both of whom completed their eligibility with the 2025 season, will play on the 22-member White All-Star team. Allen will wear jersey No. 1, Martel No. 25. The game carries a 3 p.m. start time.

Allen and Martel join Jocelyn LeMay (2019) as the only Chippewas to be selected to play in the game.

"It is a great honor for Alexa and Jozy to be selected to the senior all-star game," third-year CMU coach Emilia Ward said. "This is a culmination of everything the two have done for the program and exciting to have CMU represented in the event. The two of them have left a lasting impact on and off the field for the years to come."

Allen, who hails from Cincinnati, was named the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year in April. Martel captured the MAC Goalkeeper of the Year Award in 2024.

Both players earned All-MAC honors multiple times in their respective careers, and both have etched their name multiple times in the Chippewa record book.

"This game, to me, is really about celebrating the journey," said Allen, who recently graduated with a perfect 4.0 grade point average in CMU's accelerated masters of business administration program. "I'm looking forward to really enjoying every second of being on that field and knowing that it's not a high-pressure situation.

"It's a fun game and I'm going in there knowing that this is my last game, and I get to do with some of the top seniors in the country, players who have worked just as hard and who have poured just as much into this sport that I have. … It's a chance to compete at a high level one last time and to represent Central Michigan with pride and really connect with others who have shared similar experiences."

Allen is serving an internship as a data analyst for a corporate real estate company in Cincinnati before beginning law school at Marquette in August.

"To me, this game is about closing this chapter of my life on a high note before I step into a completely new one, which is law school and all the challenges that are ahead," she said. "It's a full-circle moment for me and I think this is the perfect way to close it."

Martel, who recently earned a bachelor of arts degree with a major in communications, is spending her summer coaching youth lacrosse in her hometown, Rochester, N.Y.

"It's very rewarding because being in the MAC, not that many girls get that opportunity because (the league is) so overlooked," she said of playing in the game. "For Jozy and me to be able to do that, it's hyping; I'm excited for it."

Playing in the game in particular, and having played college lacrosse in general, will stay with Martel forever, she said, adding that she relishes the friendships and bonds she made with her teammates over the past four years, particularly with fellow goalkeepers Sydney Cogliano and Leila Kahler.

"It's an experience that not many people get," she said. "It's something that'll last a lifetime; all the memories.

"We have 'Goalie World' (with Cogliano and Kahler). They are what made my experience the best because being a goalie, it's very tough. You can't over-analyze things because then you'll get in your own head. It's so nice to have that group of people that you can always count on and have them there. We connected – just like the team overall.

"We were a team, we were a family, at the end of the day. We're such a strong family and we're always going to be there for each other. Down the road there's going to be times where we'll still see each other and still hang out and have our reunions. It's so awesome to be able to tell people that I went to college for four years and I got to play Division I lacrosse and not only did I make friends, but I made a family, and those people are always going to be there for me."

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Feature: Lacrosse Standouts set for Career-Celebrating Victory Lap in Senior All-Star Game

Players Mentioned

Jozy Allen

Sydney Cogliano

Leila Kahler

Alexa Martel

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