Women’s Field Hockey News

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Guelph forward Katherine MacMillan was honoured as the U SPORTS women’s field hockey Player of the Year Thursday night, as the national award winners were celebrated at the annual All-Canadian gala.

Past Award Winners

Calgary goaltender Tayler Guy captured the Joyce Slipp Award as Rookie of the Year, while her bench boss Roel Van Maastrigt earned the Marina van der Merwe Award as Fox 40 Coach of the Year. Waterloo midfielder Larissa McLeod took home the Gail Wilson Award for her outstanding contribution both on and off the playing field. CW official Tyler Klenk is the Umpire of the Year.

LIZ HOFFMAN AWARD (Player of the Year): Katherine MacMillan, Guelph

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Now in her fifth season with Guelph, Katherine MacMillan (Kitchener, Ont.) has seen just about all there is to see in her decorated career. Despite being unable to play two seasons ago because of an ACL tear, the senior has come back stronger and more determined since the injury, and after her 2018 campaign that saw her take home an OUA all-star and U SPORTS All-Canadian nod, she has found another gear still in 2019.

MacMillan finished second in the conference with 12 goals and of those tallies, she managed to score the game-winner with four of them. The 2018 Gail Wilson Outstanding Contributor was also a proficient passer, racking up 12 helpers on the season as a result of her strong distribution skills and vision on the field. She demonstrated the ability to go above and beyond her two points per game average, however, as MacMillan twice netted four goals in a game this season.

The offensive juggernaut, who has been a threat from both the forward and midfield positions, also has an enviable work ethic and determination on the other side of the ball, and it is her affinity to succeed in every aspect of the game that has helped the Guelph team captain shine brightest in her fifth season with the Gryphs. 

“Kat has been an invaluable member of our program for five years. She sets up twice as many goals as she scores and is an inspiration to her teammates,” said Guelph head coach Michelle Turley. “It was only fitting that she scored the game winner at home to clinch the OUA title with a 1-0 victory over Toronto. I am thrilled for Kat. She’s a special individual with such a passion for the game.”

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Nominees

  • CW: Katherine MacMillan, Guelph (Winner)
  • OUA: Sara Goodman, UBC

JOYCE SLIPP AWARD (Rookie of the Year): Tayler Guy, Calgary

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A first-year arts student from Victoria, Dinos goalkeeper Tayler Guy played all eight games for the Dinos, helping them to their best finish since 2011. She posted an impressive 1.97 goals-against average, keeping the Dinos close with big saves in key moments in every fixture on the campaign. Seven of Calgary's eight games were either drawn or decided by a single goal.

"We play a high-pressure style on offence, which leaves a lot of space behind our defence," said Van Maastrigt. "That style was possible because Tayler gave the team the confidence to go forward and score more goals than in the past three seasons combined. She has shown a huge drive to develop herself, and she made game-changing saves all season. In Tayler we have a strong goalie for the future and a solid base for years to come."

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Nominees 

  • CW: Tayler Guy, Calgary (Winner)
  • OUA: Abigail Janssen, Queen’s

GAIL WILSON AWARD (Student-Athlete Community Service): Larissa McLeod, Waterloo

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McLeod, the team’s captain and leader is one of the most dedicated members of the Warriors, putting in the work year-round, while always putting her fellow Warriors first and remaining an advocate for field hockey in the OUA and beyond.

McLeod, who has been a coach with the Guelph Cobras during the outdoor and indoor seasons throughout her university tenure, is an active member of the campus community. She is one of three Executive members that lead Waterloo’s Athletic IU Council, which is made up of representatives from each of the school’s 32 sports and functions as a leadership group on campus. She also coordinates and volunteers with Team-Up, a program that sends Waterloo varsity athletes to speak at local elementary schools on smart goal setting. Beyond her own initiatives, the fourth-year all-star also looks for ways to get the team involved in the community, which included her playing an instrumental role in the team’s participation in Fitness Feeds the Community, in partnership with the Waterloo Region Food Bank.

Certainly, McLeod is a contributor on the field – both offensive and defensively – but her extensive involvement at the school and community levels show that this year’s outstanding contributor goes well beyond the sidelines to make her mark as well.

“I am so proud of what Larissa has accomplished and given in her four years as a Waterloo Warrior. As a rookie, I knew she would be joining the team as an exceptionally talented athlete, but it was quickly apparent her strengths were so much more,” said Waterloo head coach Maria Leahy. “She joined a very young program in 2016 and continues to give to it her very best, as she has since her first season as a Warrior. It has been an honour to work with an athlete so dedicated to building our program and team culture. This award recognizes her achievements as a enduring contributor to our Warrior community, the OUA, and beyond. I’m so happy for Larissa to be recognized on the national stage both as an All-Canadian and as the U SPORTS Gail Wilson recipient.”

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Nominees 

  • CW: Thora Rae, UBC
  • OUA: Larissa McLeod, Waterloo (Winner)

MARINA VAN DER MERWE AWARD (Fox 40 Coach of the Year): Roel Van Maastrigt, Calgary

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Roel Van Maastrigt's first season as the Calgary Dinos field hockey head coach marked a step forward for the program.
 
He joined the coaching staff in 2018 and took over the head job in 2019, with the team seeing progression throughout the season. The Dinos finished 0-5-3 in the toughest conference in Canada, highlighted by a pair of draws on the road at UBC. Four of the team's setbacks came by just one goal as the Dinos took major strides to close the gap with the league's perennial frontrunners.
 
Van Maastrigt relocated to Canada in 2018 after more than a decade coaching at the club level in his native Netherlands, including time with both the U14 and U16 Dutch national teams. He doubles as Field Hockey Alberta's high performance coach.
 
"Under Roel's influence, our program has seen significant improvement in a short time," said Calgary Athletic Director Jason Kerswill. "Not only did the team post its best results in several years, but the culture he is instilling in the players of hard work and belief is laying the foundation for future success."

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Nominees

  • CW: Roel Van Maastrigt, Calgary (Winner)
  • OUA: Maria Leahy, Waterloo

UMPIRE OF THE YEAR:  Tyler Klenk, Canada West 

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Tyler Klenk, whose hometown is Saskatchewan but has spent most of his hockey career in Victoria, has had a fast-tracked route to now becoming Canada's highest-ranked international umpire. Klenk's talents as an umpire stem from him being a high-level player himself, previously competing for the Vikes men's field hockey team and the Canadian junior national squad. Klenk brings a unique sense of calm to his level of umpiring while he truly is a “players’ official.”

Klenk has given up a lot to pursue his umpiring goals, moving to Vancouver to be a regular official in the Vancouver Men's Premier League – the top club level hockey in Canada. Klenk will continue to grow his skills in Vancouver working with local leagues at the club and national level, while his contributions to Canada West field hockey have also been important parts of his pathway. 
 
Klenk’s major international appointments included the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Australia, the 2019 FIH Series Finals in Paris in June and the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima in August.

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Nominees

  • CW: Tyler Klenk (Winner)
  • OUA: Denise Pelletier

2019 U SPORTS WOMEN’S FIELD HOCKEY ALL-CANADIANS

Position First Name Last Name School Eligibility Hometown Program
M Jordyn Faiczak UBC 3 Waterloo, Ont. Physics & Computer Science
D Sara Goodman UBC 3 Duncan, B.C. Arts
G Tayler Guy Calgary 1 Victoria, B.C. Arts
F Katherine MacMillan Guelph 5 Kitchener, Ont. Accounting
M Larissa McLeod Waterloo 4 Cambridge, Ont. Recreation & Sports Business
D Anna Mollenhauer Victoria 3 Victoria, B.C. Education
M Melanie Scholz Calgary 2 Calgary, Alta. Kinesiology
M Rachel Spouge Toronto 4 Vancouver, B.C. Commerce
D Frankie St. Louis York 3 Toronto, Ont. Kinesiology & Health Science
M/F Emily Ziraldo Toronto 4 Toronto, Ont. Management of Innovation (Master’s)
F Hilary Ziraldo Toronto 5 Toronto, Ont. Pharmacology & Biomedical Toxicology