University of North Carolina Athletics
Young Named ACC Defensive Player of the Year
November 2, 2016 | Field Hockey
GREENSBORO, N.C. – North Carolina senior Julia Young has been named Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year and four other Tar Heels joined her on the All-ACC team as the conference announced its field hockey awards Wednesday on the eve of the ACC Championship. Young, from Yorktown, Va., is the third Tar Heel to win the award.
Joining Young on the All-ACC first team are fellow seniors Emma Bozek and Lauren Moyer. Sophomores Malin Evert and Eva van't Hoog were named to the second team.
The awards are determined by a vote of the league's seven head coaches. A total of 23 players earned All-ACC honors. In addition to Young, individual award recipients are Virginia's Tara Vittese, ACC Offensive Player of the Year; Wake Forest's Nicola Pluta, ACC Freshman of the Year; and Duke's Pam Bustin, ACC Coach of the Year accolades.
Past Tar Heels to earn the ACC Defensive Player of the Year honor are Rachel Dawson (2004, 2007) and Caitlin Van Sickle (2010, 2011, 2012). Young, UNC's captain, has started every game this fall at center back. She earned second-team All-America honors last season, when she was named to the All-ACC and All-NCAA Tournament teams. She is a member of the U.S. Under-21 team, as is Moyer.
The 2016 ACC Field Hockey Championship gets underway Thursday in Winston-Salem, N.C.. Thursday's quarterfinals are scheduled for 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 4 p.m., and the semifinals will be at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The championship will be held Sunday at 1 p.m. All six games of the championship will be broadcast on RSN and ACC Network Extra.
2016 ACC Field Hockey Individual Honors
Offensive Player of the Year – Tara Vittese, Virginia
Defensive Player of the Year – Julia Young, North Carolina
Freshman of the Year – Nicola Pluta, Wake Forest
Coach of the Year – Pam Bustin, Duke
2016 All-ACC Field Hockey Teams
First Team
Alyssa Chillano, Jr., D, Duke
Heather Morris, Sr., F, Duke
Ayeisha McFerran, So., GK, Louisville
Julia Young, Sr., D, North Carolina @
Emma Bozek, Sr., F, North Carolina @
Lauren Moyer, Sr., F, North Carolina
Lies Lagerweij, Jr., D, Syracuse
Roos Weers, So., D, Syracuse @
Laura Hurff, Jr., M, Syracuse @
Tara Vittese, Jr., M, Virginia #
Lucy Hyams, Sr., M, Virginia #
Nicola Pluta, Fr., F, Wake Forest
Second Team
Audra Hampsch, Sr., GK, Boston College
Emily McCoy, Sr., M, Boston College @
Frederique Haverhals, So., D, Boston College
Ymke Rose Gote, So., M, Boston College
Aisling Naughton, Gr., F, Duke
Erin McCrudden, Sr., M, Louisville
Nicole Woods, Jr., F, Louisville @
Lizzie Gittens, Gr., D, Louisville
Minout Mink, Fr., F, Louisville
Eva van't Hoog, So., M, North Carolina
Malin Evert, So., M, North Carolina
@ Two-time honoree, # Three-time honoree
