Scots Collect Individual Awards as Part of All-NCAC Team

Nicole Pritchard

Megan Sward

Megan Sward (Sewickley, Pa./Sewickley Academy) and Nicole Pritchard (Wildwood, Mo./Lafayette) were selected the North Coast Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, and four other members of The College of Wooster’s NCAC-champion women’s lacrosse team joined them on the All-NCAC First Team, announced the league office Wednesday.

The Scots, guided by NCAC co-Coach of the Year Alison Share, took up six of the 14 spots on the All-NCAC First Team, and added a second-team all-conference pick as well.

Sward becomes the second consecutive Wooster player to cop the league’s top offensive honor after finishing second in the NCAC scoring race (3.71 points per game). Overall, she paced the Scots’ balanced attack with 40 goals and 23 assists for 63 points — the 10th-most in school history for a season. Sward’s 40 goals came on 85 shots for a .471 shooting percentage (the highest rate on the squad), and she also contributed a team-leading 31 draw controls as well as 34 groundballs.

Pritchard, now a three-time first-team all-conference honoree and formerly the Newcomer of the Year (2001), was again the anchor of Wooster’s defense. In 2004, the Scots allowed just 7.8 goals per outing — lowest in the league — on 25.6 shots. She led the squad in caused turnovers with 26 in 17 games and collected 30 groundballs, to go with four goals and two assists on the offensive end.

Share has been part of Wooster’s most successful stretch in school history, having guided the program to three consecutive NCAC championships, the last two years as head coach. Share, who was an assistant on the Scots’ first title-run, has compiled a 25-8 record at the helm.

Alison Share

Also receiving first-team all-conference honors were junior midfielders Angela and Ashley Arnold (Columbus, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), sophomore defender Joanna Harrod (Cincinnati, Ohio/ Sycamore), and sophomore goalkeeper Nicki Hunt (Lutherville, Md./St. Pauls School for Girls).

For the Arnold twins, it marks Angela’s second career postseason accolade after receiving second-team all-conference recognition last spring, while Ashley’s is her first such award. The duo both played key roles in helping Wooster control the ball in the middle of the field, Angela in a defensive role and Ashley as an offensive force. Angela picked up a squad-high 43 groundballs and also tallied five points on three goals and two assists, 17 draw controls, and 16 caused turnovers, while Ashley was the Scots’ second-leading scorer with 34 points on 28 goals and six assists, to go with 28 groundballs.

Harrod, along with Pritchard and Angela Arnold, was another cornerstone of the Scots’ defense, which yielded less than 10 goals to 13 of 17 opponents. Statistically, she recorded 36 groundballs — second-most on the team — and 17 caused turnovers, four draw controls, and one goal.

Hunt, after earning second-team All-NCAC honors as a freshman, was the top goalie in the league this spring, producing a .628 save percentage. In fact, that mark set a school record and ranked her second in save percentage across all of NCAA Div. III. Also this year, Hunt, who totaled 181 saves (compared to 107 goals allowed), posted an 8.09 goals against average in 16 starts.

Rounding out Wooster’s all-conference selections, Erica Frazier-Young (Skokie, Ill./Ithaca — N.Y.) received a second-team citation, the junior midfielder’s first career All-NCAC honor. Frazier-Young was the squad’s third-leading scorer with 20 points coming on 19 goals and one assist, and she also added 24 draw controls — second-most on the team — and 21 groundballs on the season.

As a team, the Scots won a school-record 13 games (13-4) during the 2004 campaign, captured the NCAC championship with a perfect regular season (6-0) and then two victories in the conference tourney, and hosted an NCAA Tournament Round-of-16 game against Nazareth (N.Y.) College, which they lost 12-5.