Nov. 2, 2011

Tournament Central

The Drive For Five

STANFORD, Calif.- On the eve of the 14th annual NorPac Championship, the Stanford field hockey program was well-represented with seven all-conference selections, tying California for the league lead as announced Wednesday night at the awards banquet.

Among the highlights: junior Becky Dru earning Co-Player of the Year honors and repeating as the Defensive Player of the Year while Tara Danielson was tabbed the Coach of the Year.

Dru's selection as the West Division Player of the Year represents the fourth straight season a Stanford player has captured the honor (Camille Gandhi in 2008, followed by Xanthe Travlos in 2009 and 2010).

A 2010 Longstreth/NFHCA All-West Region honoree, Dru was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season and earned Co-Player of the Year honors with California's Andrea Earle. Dru leads the Cardinal in goals (14), points (35) and shots (64). With a career-high 14 goals this year, Dru is bidding to become Stanford's leading goal scorer in back-to-back seasons for the first time since Jess Zutz in 2006 and 2007.

Dru was also awarded a spot on the all-conference list, joining seniors Stephanie Byrne and Ale Moss and freshman Alex McCawley.

Byrne leads Stanford in assists (13), the most for a Cardinal player since Nora Soza dished out 17 in 2009. She has added two goals, ranks third on the team in points (17) and 16 of her 25 shots have been on goal.

Moss has played every minute in goal for Stanford this year. She has tallied six shutouts, highlighted by a 3-0 win at No. 7 Michigan on Sunday in the regular season finale, making a season-high nine saves to shut down the Wolverines.

In 17 starts, McCawley ranks third on the team in goals (6) and second in shots (41). She was named the NorPac's West Division Rookie of the Week five times overall and four out of the last five weeks.

No. 6 Stanford aims for its fifth consecutive tournament crown when the NorPac Championship gets underway Thursday afternoon at the Varsity Turf. The Cardinal plays Appalachian State at 1:30 p.m.

The last five NorPac Championship title games have resulted in a Stanford-California matchup, with the Cardinal defeating the Golden Bears four straight years. California posted a 3-1 win in the 2006 championship game.

Regardless of its performance in the NorPac Championship, Stanford (15-2, 6-0 NorPac) figures to be well-positioned for an at-large NCAA Tournament berth and even possesses an outside shot as a host site for the first and second rounds.

West Division All-Conference
Stephanie Byrne (Stanford)
Becky Dru (Stanford)
Andrea Earle (Cal)
Shannon Elmitt (Cal)
Lara Kruggel (Cal)
Erin Magill (Cal)
Alex McCawley (Stanford)
Amanda Spellman (Pacific)
Emily Tregoning (Pacific)
Casey Wollbrinck (UC Davis)
Ale Moss (Stanford)
Ashlee Schelsier (Pacific)

West Division Co-Player of the Year
Becky Dru (Stanford) and Andrea Earle (Cal)

West Division Offensive Player of the Year
Andrea Earle (Cal)

West Division Defensive Player of the Year
Becky Dru (Stanford)

East Division All-Conference
Finley Amato (Davidson)
Sarah Bietsch (Longwood)
Lynsey Daughtrey (Radford)
Stacey de Grandhomme (Longwood)
Brittany Diaz (Longwood)
Olga Knop (Longwood)
Steph Meador (Davidson)
Christine Rua (Davidson)
Brooklyn Shearer (Appalachian State)
Madonna Wadolowski (Radford)
Kaye Goulding (Longwood)

East Division Player of the Year
Finley Amato (Davidson)

Offensive Player of the Year
Finley Amato (Davidson)

Defensive Player of the Year
Kaye Goulding (Longwood)

Coach of the Year
Tara Danielson (Stanford)

Maria Whitehead Rookie of the Year
Lara Kruggel (Cal)

Julie Nagel Extraordinary Teammate Award
Mattie Malony (UC Davis)

Sheryl Johnson Academic Award
Christine Rua (Davidson)
Sarah Schneider (UC Davis)