|
| Kayla O'Connor |
|
| Kerry O'Connor |
Four members of The College of Wooster field hockey team earned All-North Coast Athletic Conference honors as announced by the conference office on Tuesday afternoon. Senior forward Kerry O'Connor led the way with first-team honors, while senior forward Kayla O'Connor earned second-team accolades, and sophomore midfielder Rose Taylor and senior midfielder Rachel Wetzel both earned honorable mention status.
After garnering honorable mention All-NCAC honors in 2014, Kerry O'Connor solidified herself as one of the offensive cornerstones for the Fighting Scots, logging a career-high in goals (11) and points (27) while tacking on five assists. The senior forward tallied a pair of two-score games and the game-winning goal in Wooster's 4-3 victory at Oberlin College (Oct. 29). O'Connor's ability to find the back of the caged showcased itself in conference play, as nine of the senior's 11 goals came against NCAC competition.
Kayla O'Connor logged a stellar year offensively with a personal-best nine goals – all coming in conference play – en route to her first all-conference certificate. As one of the main offensive facilitators, O'Connor's scoring potential emerged during some of the most crucial points during the season, highlighted by two game-winning overtime goals against Oberlin (Oct. 1) and Wittenberg University (Oct. 22). Of note, O'Connor recorded her third-career hat trick in a 6-5 loss to DePauw University (Sept. 17), with all three goals coming in the first half.
Taylor earns her second all-conference honorable mention nod after providing an immediate impact as a first-year in 2015. This season saw much of the same production level from the sophomore, who served as a central anchor in the Wooster midfield. Taylor tallied ten points on four goals and two assists with all goals coming against NCAC competition in a six-game span, including the game-winning goal in Wooster's 2-1 win over Ohio Wesleyan University (Oct. 19). Taylor is the first student-athlete to earn all-conference laurels in each of her first two seasons since Madalyn Myers in 2008 and 2009.
Wetzel collects her first all-conference certificate after capping her collegiate experience with a career-best four goals and seven assists for 15 points as a midfielder. All four of Wetzel's goals came during conference play, and all were part of one-score games in which Wooster went 3-1 during that span. The senior tallied a goal and an assist in Wooster's 3-2 win over Earlham College (Sept. 16) and the Scots' 5-4 overtime win against Oberlin (Oct. 1).