OUA Announces 2015 Field Hockey Major Awards and All-Stars

BURLINGTON, Ont. – Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is excited to announce the 2015 OUA field hockey major awards and all-stars.

After a strong 2015 regular season, Toronto Varsity Blues forward Tegan Stairs (Kitchener, Ont.) has been named OUA MVP, becoming the second Toronto player to win the award in the past two seasons.  The Varsity Blues went 11-1 in the regular season, with Stairs establishing herself as the leader of a Toronto team looking to repeat as OUA championships.  In 10 games this season, Stairs led the Varsity Blues with 13 goals, good for third place in the conference.  Along with MVP honours, the fifth-year criminology student-athlete was named an OUA all-star for the fifth time in her career.

Along with Stairs, Amanda Woodcroft (Waterloo, Ont.) and Alison Lee (Mississauga, Ont.) have also been named to the 2015 all-star team.  Woodcroft, who became the first Varsity Blues player since 2008 to win the MVP award last season, appeared in all 12 games this season for Toronto and finished tied for second on the team with 11 goals.  This is the fourth OUA all-star award of her career, as she was previously recognized in 2011, 2012 and 2014.  This is the third consecutive all-star nod for Lee after she finished seventh in the conference with eight goals.

Also taking home some hardware for the Blues is defender Hilary Ziraldo (Toronto, Ont.) who has been named OUA Rookie of the Year following a fantastic freshman campaign.  Ziraldo, a life sciences student-athlete, becomes the first Varsity Blue to earn the honour since Woodcroft claimed it in 2011. Ziraldo boasts excellent ball handling skills that helped Toronto penetrate the circle and generated a lot of scoring chances.

The Guelph Gryphons went 11-1 during the regular season, scoring the most goals against the Varsity Blues in program history in a 9-5 win on Oct. 3.  Midfielder Moon Weijens (Zelhem, Netherlands) scored six goals in 11 games for the Gryphons.  For her efforts, the agricultural major has been named to the OUA all-star team in just her first season in the league.

Joining Weijens on the all-star team are a pair of Gryphons as forward Allison Chute (Greenfield Park, Que.) and Erin Houle (Burlington, Ont.) have also been named to the squad.  Chute, 2012 OUA Rookie of the Year and two time all-star, led the conference in scoring with a remarkable 20 goals in just 12 games.  This is the third consecutive all-star award for Houle, as the fifth-year midfielder scored four goals in 11 games, while continuing to be one of Guelph's best players, dominating the game with her stick skills and strong playmaking abilities.

With a coaching duo of Michelle Turley and Nick Govia at the helm, the Gryphons improved on their 10-2 record and second place finish a year ago and are once again a serious contender to reclaim the banner.  For her efforts this season, Turley has been named OUA Coach of the Year.

Queen's Gaels midfielder Caitlin Gordon (Richmond, BC) has established herself as a leader both on and off the field and this year has been recognized for her community involvement with the Gail Wilson Award. The fourth-year life sciences major has been giving back to her local field hockey club by coaching and mentoring younger players since she was in Grade 9.  While at Queen's, Gordon has volunteered as a coach with the new U14 program as well as with the regional U18 program.  Off the field, the Richmond native has volunteered with Soul Foods and Martha's Table, where she provide meals to those in need.  She has participated in various fundraisers for those affected by HIV/AIDS and was one of the team members who organized a workshop to high school student about leadership and the power of peer influence.

The York Lions finished the regular season third in the conference with a 5-5-2 record and a pair of midfielders Mikhaela Slavin (Pickering, Ont.) and Rebecca Titus (Scarborough, Ont.) have been named to the OUA all-star team based on their strong defensive play for a team that allowed only 2 goals against per game this season.

Once again this season, Waterloo Warriors midfielder Stephanie Snyder (Waterloo, Ont.) carried the offence, scoring a remarkable 12 of her team's 14 goals.  Snyder, a fifth-year economics student-athlete, was named an OUA all-star in each of the previous two seasons and her 12 goals ranks her fourth in the conference.

Joining Snyder on the all-star team this year is teammate and OUA Goalie of the Year, Hilary Neeb (Wellesley, Ont.).  Despite receiving just 1.2 goals-per game of support, the fourth-year English/history major kept the Warriors in almost every game she played in, as seven of their 12 games this year were decided by two or less goals.  In addition to being named OUA Goalie of the Year, Neeb has also been named to the all-star team based on her performance over the course of the season.

The season didn't go the way the McGill  had hoped but one bright spot for the Martlets is that midfielder Kylie Nabata (North Vancouver, B.C.) has been named an OUA all-star for the third straight season.  Nabata, who also was recognized for her community involvement last season with the OUA Gail Wilson Award, scored three goals this season for McGill.

For the second consecutive season, Denise Pelletier has been recognized as the OUA Umpire of the Year.

The OUA Field Hockey Championship begins on Friday at noon, with the first semifinal matchup between Waterloo and Guelph, followed York taking on crosstown rivals and host Toronto at 2:00pm.  All games this weekend will be take place on the Back Campus Fields at the University of Toronto and will be streamed live on OUA.tv.

OUA FIELD HOCKEY MAJOR AWARDS

Most Valuable Player – Tegan Stairs – Toronto Varsity Blues
Rookie of the Year – Hilary Ziraldo – Toronto Varsity Blues
Goalie of the Year – Hilary Neeb – Waterloo Warriors
Coach of the Year – Michelle Turley – Guelph Gryphons
Gail Wilson Award – Caitlin Gordon – Queen's Gaels
Top Umpire – Denise Pelletier

OUA ALL-STARS

Tegan Stairs – Toronto Varsity Blues
Amanda Woodcroft – Toronto Varsity Blues
Alison Lee – Toronto Varsity Blues
Allison Chute – Guelph Gryphons
Erin Houle – Guelph Gryphons
Moon Weijens – Guelph Gryphons
Stephanie Snyder – Waterloo Warriors
Hilary Neeb – Waterloo Warriors
Mikhaela Slavin – York Lions
Rebecca Titus – York Lions
Kylie Nabata – McGill Martlets