DENVER Senior defender Kelly O'Connell (Baltimore, Md.) was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Year, leading a list of six University of Denver women’s lacrosse players honored, the MPSF announced today.
“I am excited that Kelly is getting recognition from the MPSF,” head coach Liza Kelly said. “Kelly is one of the best defenders that I have ever coached, and it is such an honor for the other coaches in our league to acknowledge her extraordinary talent.”
Joining O’Connell as All-MPSF selections were junior Megan Carver (Baltimore, Md.), junior Steph Coyne (Baltimore, Md.), sophomore Ali Flury (Arnold, Md.) and junior Karen Morton (Adelaide, Australia), while freshman Tulley Stapp (Denver, Colo.) was one of three freshmen named Tri-Newcomer of the Year.
“After losing a two-time MPSF Player of the Year, this team really came together strong, especially winning six in a row to finish the season. The entire team deserves recognition, but I am really proud of these players honored by the MPSF.”
This marks the third-straight season that the Pioneers have taken Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year honors. Kristie Leggio (2006-07) won MPSF Player of the Year honors in both seasons she played at Denver, while Morton (2006) and Flury (2007) took home Newcomer of the Year honors.
A four-year anchor for Denver’s defense, O’Connell is seventh in the nation and second in the MPSF with 2.18 caused turnovers per game this season. On April 20, O’Connell set a new DU single-game record by forcing eight caused turnovers against then-No. 19 Stanford, a performance that helped her earn MPSF Co-Player of the Week, the first time in at least four years that a defender has won the award. Additionally, O’Connell is fifth in the conference with 1.94 draw controls per game, while adding 27 groundballs. A four-time All-MPSF member and a two-time All-MPSF Tournament selection, O’Connell was named to the Division I All-Regional Second Team for the West/Midwest as a sophomore and a junior.
Stapp has 19 points off 15 goals and four assists this season, while also taking the bulk of DU’s draws. The Denver native combined for seven points in just over 24 hours against Colgate and Marist on March 16 and 17. Stapp is fourth on the Pioneers with 19 draw controls, and sixth in goals, assists, points and shots on goal (25). Stapp also has two game-winning goals this season.
This marks the first time that Carver has been selected as All-MPSF. The junior leads the conference with six game-winning goals, including one to beat Oregon in the semifinals of the MPSF Championship on Thursday. Carver is also second in the MPSF, trailing only Coyne, with 1.50 assists per game, the 31st best total in the nation. Carver’s 3.81 points per game rank third in the MPSF, and her 2.31 goals per game rank fourth. Carver’s nine points against Connecticut on March 11 tied the sixth-best single-game mark in DU history.
Coyne joins the All-MPSF team for the second-straight season after shattering Denver’s single-season record with 52 assists and becoming DU’s career leader with 101 assists, surpassing Leggio in both categories. Coyne is third in the NCAA with 2.88 assists per game and 11th with 77 points, while leading the MPSF in both categories. The three-time MPSF Player of the Week is fourth in DU history with 185 career points, just two behind Morton who is in third place. Coyne had five or more point during nine games this season, including 10 points off three goals and seven assists against Colgate on March 16. The seven assists that day tied DU’s single-game record, while the 10 points tied for second all-time.
Flury earned All-MPSF for the second-consecutive season after finishing the regular season ranked second in the conference with 2.65 goals per game and 0.76 free-position goals per game, and seventh with 2.94 points per game. The midfielder’s 49 goals leads DU this season, and Flury has recorded at least one point in all 37 games since joining the Pioneers, the 10th longest such streak in the nation.
Morton is third all-time for DU in both career goals (138) and points (187), and she is fourth all-time in career assists (49). Morton has scored at least one point in all 57 games she has played with the Pioneers, a streak that is just second in the nation behind Vanderbilt’s Margie Curran who has a 58-game streak. Morton has also scored a goal in 31-straight games, the fifth longest streak in the country. Morton ranks third in the MPSF in goals per game (2.41), fourth in draw controls per game (2.12), sixth in points per game (3.12) and 10th in assists per game (0.71). In addition to earning All-MPSF and All-MPSF Tournament teams as a freshman and sophomore, Morton was selected to the IWLCA All-Regional First Team for the West/Midwest in 2007.
The No. 17 and top-seeded Pioneers beat Oregon 18-12 on Thursday to advance to the finals of the MPSF Championship, where they will face No. 3 seed Stanford on Saturday at 2 p.m. This is the third-consecutive year that Denver has advanced to the title game as the No. 1 seed, but the Cardinal upset DU in both 2006 and 2007.
