Following a season in which The College of Wooster field hockey team claimed its fourth-consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference championship and advanced in the NCAA Tournament, seven standouts have received individual accolades, highlighted by Amanda Artman who was named the Great Lakes Region Player of the Year by the National Field Hockey Coaches Association, as well as NCAC Offensive Player of the Year.
Joining Artman as a first-team selection on both the all-region and all-conference teams was midfielder Stephanie Standera, while forward Eileen Barrer received a first-team all-region nod along with second-team all-conference laurels. Goalkeeper Madalyn Myers also garnered recognition on both squads as second-team picks, while Kate Valora (second-team), Brittany Montgomery (honorable mention) and Clare-Nelson Johnson (honorable mention) made appearances on the all-NCAC squad.
Artman has now been named NCAC Offensive Player of the Year three times, and this season she became both Wooster's and the NCAC's all-time leading scorer with 189 career points (77 goals, 35 assists). This season she racked up 65 points (28 goals, nine assists), the third highest total in school history, and she currently ranks fourth in NCAA Div. III in both points (3.10 ppg) and goals (1.33 gpg). Artman registered three hat tricks on the year, including a four-goal explosion against rival Wittenberg University on Sept. 19.
Standera, who was also named the NCAC Tournament MVP, earned her third all-league and second all-region nods, following a season in which she helped guide a Wooster attack that scored almost doubled its opponents goal total (81-44). She totaled 12 points (three goals, six assists) during the season, and played a large part in a defensive effort that allowed just 1.9 goals per game.
Barrer makes her third appearance on the all-NCAC squad, and second all-region selection, scoring 13 goals for the third-consecutive season, while handing out a career-high seven assists. She scored two goals on three occasions, including a five-point effort (two goals, one assist) in a 7-0 rout over Oberlin College on Sept. 10. Barrer tallied a goal or assist in 16 games, and the Fighting Scots were 9-1 in games in which she lit up the scoreboard.
Starting all 23 games in goal was Myers, who led the league with 164 saves (7.13 spg) and allowed two goals or less in 17 contests. As the season wore on she became even better in goal, evident in her shutout against Ohio Wesleyan University in the NCAC Tournament finals, and an eight-save gem that led to a 2-1 win over Hamilton College in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Valora started all 23 games switching between midfield and back duties, and tallied five goals and two assists (12 points), the sixth-highest total on the team. More important was her impact as a defender, as she consistently wreaked havoc on opposing ball-handlers, and assisted in two shutouts and eight games in which the Scots allowed one goal or less.
Montgomery came on late in the season to earn her third nod among the conference elite, recording six goals and two assists in the team's final five games of the season. Her ability to come up big in the clutch was important in Wooster's memorable run, as she scored the game-winning goals in both the NCAC Tournament championship game and the win over Hamilton College in the NCAA Tournament. She wrapped up her senior campaign with 11 goals and five assists, the latter being a career-high.
Nelson-Johnson, who was one of only two first-year midfielders to make the all-NCAC team, was an asset on defense for the Scots all season long. She was an integral part in Wooster winning the conference championship, as she locked down and helped the unit allow just two goals during the two-game tournament. Nelson-Johnson also chipped in a goal and two assists on the season, with the score coming in a 5-4 win over Denison University on Oct. 21.