The Tewaaraton Foundation announced Thursday the five women's finalists for the annual Tewaaraton Award. Sam Apuzzo (Boston College), Dempsey Arsenault (Boston College), Megan Taylor (Maryland), Jen Giles (Maryland) and Selena Lasota (Northwestern) were named as the five finalists from a list of 25 candidates.
The group will travel to Washington D.C. and the National Museum of the American Indian on May 30. Here is more on the five Tewaaraton Award finalists.
Sam Apuzzo, Boston College
The reigning Tewaaraton winner returned to Boston College and put together another strong season. She has 78 goals and 24 assists for the second-seeded Eagles. With those totals, she became the program’s all-time leader in points and goals. She’s ninth in Division I with 3.90 goals per game and 13th in points per game with 5.20. Apuzzo came out of the gates strong in 2019, dropping 49 goals in a six-game span from Feb. 18 to March 6. Oh, and she sits in the top 10 with 7.50 draw controls per game. She notched six gamed with double-digit draw controls. Apuzzo scored three goals, including the game-tying tally with 1:40 left, and won eight draw controls to fuel a 14-13 victory over Syracuse in the ACC semifinals.
Megan Taylor, Maryland
Taylor has been one of Maryland’s leaders this season, helping the Terps to an 18-1 record and the top seed in the NCAA tournament. She sits second in the nation with a 56.3 save percentage. The 2018 Big Ten Goaltender of the Year has record double-digit saves in six games this season. She stopped all eight shots in a 16-1 win over Ohio State, and allowed just one goal in two other occasions. He big games came against the top teams on the Terps schedule, with 12 saves against Florida, North Carolina and Johns Hopkins, 13 saves against Michigan and 15 more against Northwestern in the Big Ten final.
Dempsey Arsenault, Boston College
Arsenault was named ACC Midfielder of the Year as the Eagles earned the conference’s regular-season title and NCAA Tournament No. 2 seed. She picked up 36 ground balls, scored 57 goals and added 84 draw controls. She was also third on the team with 23 assists and 80 points. The four-year starter and All-ACC Tournament selection put up a 52% conversion rate on free position shots and earned both ACC Offensive Player of the Week and IWLCA National Player of the Week honors. She looks to become Boston College’s second Tewaaraton winner, after teammate Sam Apuzzo took home the Award in 2018.
Jen Giles, Maryland
Giles, the Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, paced Maryland’s seventh-ranked scoring offense with a team-best 50 goals, 22 assists and 72 points as the Terps completed a perfect regular season en route to a fifth straight Big Ten title. The senior from Ellicott City, Md., who also ranks second on the squad with 31 ground balls, placed in the conference’s top five in points, goals and assists, earning her third consecutive all-conference selection. She has led Maryland in goals and points in eight games this season and in assists in nine games. Giles would be the Terrapins’ ninth Tewaaraton winner; most recently, Zoe Stukenberg won in 2017.
Selena Lasota, Northwestern
Big Ten Attacker of the Year Selena Lasota headlines Northwestern’s second-ranked scoring offense with a team-best 74 goals and 89 points, good for tops in the Big Ten, and seventh and 15th in the nation, respectively. A redshirt senior from Campbell River, B.C., whose 4.35 goals per game ranks fourth nationally, Lasota helped the Wildcats to the program’s first Big Ten Tournament title and the NCAA Tournament No. 4 seed. Northwestern’s all-time leading goal scorer with 197 (most among active Division I players), Lasota was selected to her fourth All-Big Ten Team and the conference’s All-Tournament Team. She would be the Wildcats’ sixth Tewaaraton winner, following most recently Shannon Smith in 2011.