OUA announces lacrosse major award winners and All-Stars

BURLINGTON, Ont. – Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is pleased to announce the 2017 OUA Lacrosse major award winners and All-Stars.

Offensive Player of the Year – Katie De Snoo, Western

Building off of what was a strong 2016 campaign for the Western attack, in which she garnered a First-Team All-Star nod, Katy De Snoo (Oshawa, Ont.) did one better in 2017, capturing the Offensive Player of the Year Award to go along with her All-Star accolade.

It was an electrifying year for the third year star, something you can see right off the start. In Western’s first tilt with Brock, the Sciences major scored four of her teams 12 goals, and only got stronger from there. One of the major highlights in De Snoo’s offensive clinic this season was a three-game stretch towards the end of the year that saw her tally 13 goals and 12 assists.

Her strong offensive presence continued into the championships, meanwhile, capping off her team’s gold medal performance with a pair of markers in the finale, capping off a truly impressive, award-winning campaign.

Defensive Player of the Year – Jacqueline Owens, Western

De Snoo wasn’t the only major award winner to don Mustangs purple; however, as teammate Jacqueline Owens has been named the Defensive Player of the Year. This is the second straight season that a Western player takes home the honours (Maegan McCrory, 2016) and it was well-deserved for the Social Sciences major. Her defensive play cannot be understated for the gold-medal winning Mustangs, who surrendered a league-low 55 goals en route to a goal-differential of +130.

In addition to these major award winners come a host of other All-Stars from the Mustangs, including First-Team standouts Claire Palmer (Aurora, Ont.) and Hayley Liske (Fonthill, Ont.), as well as Second-Team All-Stars Maegan McCrory (Oshawa, Ont.) and Heather Pearson (Summit, NJ).

Rookie of the Year – Amelia Piccone, Queen’s

While it was business as usual for the top Western stars, a new star made her way onto the scene this season playing for the Queen’s Gaels. It was a strong season for the Tricolour and a significant part of that success was newcomer Amelia Piccone (Westmont, NJ), who has been named the OUA’s Rookie of the Year for 2017.

Piccone was a consistent offensive threat for the Gaels all season long and was a force on loose balls and in the transition game. The first-year player was always willing to contribute in any way that she could; something that made her transition into the OUA a raging success.

Beyond Piccone being recognized for her rookie efforts, Queen’s also houses a number of All-Stars for the season, including First-Team nods for Samantha French (Orangeville, Ont.) and Kiah Shanks (Orillia, Ont.), as well as a Second-Team honour for Annie Lloyd (Orillia, Ont.).

Coach of the Year - Jeska Eedens, Toronto

In only her second year as Blues bench boss, Jeska Eedens has earned OUA Coach of the Year honours. The former player – who earned the OUA Defensive Player of the Year award in 2009 – guided the Varsity Blues to an 8-2-3 record, including a five-game unbeaten streak to end the regular season. The team placed second in the OUA East Division this year, and from there, Eedens coached the squad to an OUA bronze-medal finish – their first podium result since the 2014 season.

Significant parts of Eedens’ talented Varsity Blues squad also received recognition, as Sarah Jamieson (Etobicoke, Ont.) was named a First-Team All-Star and June Shiraishi (Toronto, Ont.), Geneva Calder (Toronto, Ont.), and Mary Anne Meerasabeer (Mississauga, Ont.) were all named to the Second-Team. 

Rounding at the First-Team All-Stars, meanwhile, are Laurier’s Emily Ferguson (Waterloo, Ont.), Brock’s Kendra Byers (Mississauga, Ont.) and Olivia Langdon (Burlington, Ont.), and Trent’s Mackenzie Robinson (Orillia, Ont.) and Leah Michel (Courtice, Ont.). The remaining Second-Team nods are received by Laurier’s Taylor Miller (Orangeville, Ont.) and Abby Clayton (Fergus, Ont.), McMaster’s Sabrina Schindel (Toronto, Ont.) and Sophie Skillen (Mono, Ont.), Brock’s Lindsey Highfield (Georgetown, Ont.), and York’s Sonya Mwambu (Ajax, Ont.).

The complete list of major award winners and All-Stars is as follows:

Offensive Player of the Year – Katie De Snoo, Western
Defensive Player of the Year – Jacqueline Owens, Western
Rookie of the Year – Amelia Piccone, Queen’s
Coach of the Year - Jeska Eedens, Toronto

First-Team All-Stars

Goalie – Claire Palmer, Western
Defence – Jacqueline Owens, Western
Defence – Emily Ferguson, Laurier
Defence – Kendra Byers, Brock
Midfield – Hayley Liske, Western
Midfield – Samantha French, Queen’s
Midfield – Sarah Jamieson, Toronto
Midfield – Mackenzie Robinson, Trent
Midfield – Olivia Langdon, Brock
Attack – Katy De Snoo, Western
Attack – Kiah Shanks, Queen’s
Attack – Leah Michel, Trent

Second-Team All-Stars

Goalie – Sabrina Schindel, McMaster
Defence – Maegan McCrory, Western
Defence – Annie Lloyd, Queen’s
Defence – June Shiraishi, Toronto
Midfield – Heather Pearson, Western
Midfield – Geneva Calder, Toronto
Midfield – Taylor Miller, Laurier
Midfield – Abby Clayton, Laurier
Midfield – Lindsey Highfield, Brock
Attack – Mary Anne Meerasabeer, Toronto
Attack – Sophie Skillen, McMaster
Attack – Sonya Mwambu, York