Amato Named NorPac East Field Hockey Player and Offensive Player of the Year For Second Straight Season

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STANFORD, Calif. – Junior forward Finley Amato became the first two-time winner of the NorPac East Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards from Davidson, as she was awarded the season honors at the NorPac Championship Banquet at Stanford University Wednesday night.

Amato (Lake Forest, Ill) earned the same honors as a sophomore last season, and she was also named to the All-NorPac East team for the second consecutive season. Davidson senior defender Steph Meador (Hummelstown, Pa.) also earned her second consecutive All-NorPac East selection, while senior forward Christine Rua (Pittsburgh, Pa.) earned her first selection to the team. Rua was also a co-recipient of the Sheryl Johnson Academic Award.

Davidson, the second seed in the East Division, begins competition in the NorPac Championship tournament Thursday at 11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. EST) against the third seed from the West Division, UC Davis. UC Davis finished the regular season with a 4-11 overall record and a 2-4 mark in the NorPac, but was receiving votes in the latest NFHCA/Kookaburra Division I Coaches Top 20 Poll. Emily Mecke, Cloey LemMon, and Kristen Lopez lead the Aggies in scoring with 13 points.

Amato has posted the two best offensive seasons in the history of the Wildcat field hockey program, and is on pace to become Davidson's career scoring leader. As a sophomore in 2010, she became the team's active career scoring leader by scoring a single-season team record 39 points (16 goals, 7 assists). As a junior in 2011, she has neared her 2010 output by scoring a NorPac East and team-leading 13 goals and seven assists for 33 points, which presently ties her for the fifth-best single season at Davidson. Amato is the only Wildcat to have two seasons rank among the top five best in Davidson field hockey history.

Kayli Maxwell (2004-07) is currently Davidson's goals (40), assists (23) and points (103) record holder, but Amato could eventually take all three as she has 33 goals, 15 assists and 81 points with at least two games remaining in her junior season.

Amato has been an impact player for the 'Cats this season, leading the team with three game-winning goals. The NorPac East's scoring leader for a second consecutive season, Amato was named the division's offensive player of the week following three of the 10 weeks during the regular season. She first earned the weekly honor for tallying a goal and an assist against No. 16 Louisville. She then scored both goals in a 2-1 comeback win over Longwood to earn the award a second time. Amato recorded a hat trick against Appalachian State and then assisted on both goals in a crucial 2-1 win over Radford to secure the NorPac East No. 2 seed to earn the award for a third time last week. Amato also amassed a five-game point-scoring streak (5 goals, 2 assists – 12 points) in games against Longwood, App. State, Saint Louis. Wake Forest and Radford. She started the streak by scoring two goals each in back-to-back games against Longwood and Appalachian State. Amato finished the regular season by scoring four goals and two assists in conference games against all three NorPac East opponents.

Meador earned her second-consecutive All-NorPac East selection by playing stellar defense for the Wildcats. The senior continues to blunt attacks with pass interceptions and strong recovery runs. She made one defensive save during the regular season against No. 16 Albany.

Rua scored nine goals and six assists to match her career high of 24 points set last season and rank third in the East Division and sixth in the conference. She tied with Amato for the team lead in game-winning goals with three, including the game-winner for the 'Cats in the regular season finale over Radford to secure the No. 2 seed in the NorPac East. Rua earned NorPac East Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors after assisting on a goal in a NorPac East match at Appalachian State and then factoring in on all four Davidson goals in a game against Saint Louis by assisting on the first goal and then scoring the next three goals for seven total points. Rua amassed a five-game point-scoring streak (6g, 3a – 15 points) beginning with the App. game and concluding with a two-goal game against Liberty. She also scored goals against No. 16 Louisville, Siena (game-winner) and Wake Forest and assisted on three goals in a home win over Appalachian State.

East 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)

Player of the Year
Finley Amato (Davidson)

Offensive Player of the Year
Finley Amato (Davidson)

Defensive Player of the Year
Kaye Goulding (Longwood)

West 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)

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

Offensive Player of the Year
Andrea Earle (Cal)

Defensive Player of the Year
Becky Dru (Stanford)

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)

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Amato Named NorPac East Field Hockey Player and Offensive Player of the Year For Second Straight Season

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Amato Named NorPac East Field Hockey Player and Offensive Player of the Year For Second Straight Season

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