Temple University Athletics
Trio of Owls Honored at the BIG EAST Field Hockey Banquet
11.7.13 | Field Hockey
HARTFORD, Conn. - Three members of the 19th-ranked Temple field hockey team were honored by the BIG EAST Conference at the annual awards banquet, which was the first for the Owls after becoming an associate member at the beginning of the 2013 season. Amber Youtz earned BIG EAST First Team honors, while teammates Molly Doyle and Lizzy Millen were named to the BIG EAST Second Team.
Old Dominion junior forward Rosario Villagra was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, while teammate Christy Longacre was selected BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. Louisville forward Shannon Sloss was tabbed BIG EAST Rookie of the Year. The Old Dominion coaches were named BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
The announcements were made at the banquet which was held at the championship hotel, the Ramada Plaza Inn in Hartford. The BIG EAST Championship is being held Nov. 8 and 10 at the George J. Sherman Complex on the campus of the University of Connecticut. Fourth-seeded Temple will face the No. 1 seed, UConn, on Friday at 5:00 p.m., followed by the other semifinal between No. 2 seed Old Dominion and No. 3 seed Louisville. The two winners will play for the BIG EAST title on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The conference champion earns a bid to the 2013 NCAA Championship.
Youtz, a junior forward, leads all players in NCAA Division I in points per game at 2.60, and she ranks third in the nation in goals per game at 1.07. She was a Preaseason All-BIG EAST selection, and was twice named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week this season. She is moving up the ranks on the all-time career lists at Temple in only her junior year. With 103 career points, Youtz is tied with her former teammate Bridget Settles for fifth all-time, and with 42 goals she sits just behind Settles in career goals, ranking seventh all-time.
This season, Youtz has scored 16 goals to go with seven assists, and recorded her fourth career hat trick in a 3-1 win vs. Providence on Oct. 11. It was the first game back for Youtz after sitting out for three full games due to injury.
Doyle, a senior defender, ranks second on the team with eight goals and 19 total points. She notched her first career hat trick in a 3-1 win over Bucknell on Oct. 6, and scored twice in a 3-0 upset of #6 Penn State on Sept. 6, after which she was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week. Doyle has helped anchor a Temple defense that has recorded five shutouts this season, and held opponents to just 29 goals while the Owls have scored 49.
Temple's leader in the cage all season has been Millen, a redshirt-junior goalkeeper. Her saves percentage of .775 ranks 13th in the nation, while her goals against average of 1.51 ranks 24th. Millen has 100 saves this season, and 299 for her career which ranks seventh all-time in Temple program history. She has recorded five shutouts in 2013 and seven in her career.
ODU's Villagra, a junior from Salta, Argentina, paced the Lady Monarchs in scoring with 41 points on 14 goals and 13 assists. Her point total was tied for first in the BIG EAST. She led all league players with five game-winning goals. Her 2.28 points per game average ranked second in the conference.
