The top performers of the year on the offensive side of the disc.
June 11, 2019 by Sam Echevarria in Awards with 0 comments
Ultiworld’s 2019 Women’s College Awards are presented in part by VC Ultimate, a leading supporter of women in ultimate. They are also presented in part by the National Ultimate Training Camp, who can help prepare you to be an All-Star. All opinions are those of the authors. Thanks for supporting the brands that make Ultiworld possible!
Ultiworld is pleased to announced our third annual D-III College Awards. The criteria for each award can be found here — we consider both regular season and postseason performance in our selection of awards. As the overall top performers of the year, players selected as top three in Player of the Year voting are removed from consideration for other individual awards.
Links to all of the 2019 D-III Women’s Division awards will be added as awards are announced:
Player of the Year Award
Offensive Player of the Year Award
Defensive Player of the Year Award
Breakout Player of the Year Award
Rookie of the Year Award
Coach of the Year Award (will be announced later this week!)
All American 1st Team (will be announced later this week!)
All American 2nd Team (will be announced later this week!)
D-III Women’s 2019 Offensive Player Of The Year
Cameron Johnson (Bates)
Some players’ contributions don’t find their way to the stat sheet on offense, but Cameron Johnson lit up the 2019 tournament statistics like the Fourth of July. The Championship tournament goals leader with 28 goals across six games, Johnson is a handler’s dream, working the deep space and getting open for huck after huck.
Johnson excels at making the right play for the disc at the right time, giving handlers a well-placed target and with the footspeed to outrace her defenders. Beyond pure speed, the cutter also handles the disc well in the air, reading and playing against defenders with a confidence that shifts the odds on a 50/50 option.
Even as the Bates offense was stymied in the final, sophomore Johnson notched two goals and an assist — one game after hanging seven goals on North Park in the semis. And Johnson’s reliability extended beyond the final tournament of the season; at events like No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn, the sophomore cutter led the way with 16 goals over six games on the weekend.
Getting to watch Johnson play off of and with Gillett and the rest of the Bates handling core in 2019 was as much a treat for spectators as it was a nightmare for opponents. With Gillett graduating, the Cold Front offense will still be in good hands with Johnson.
1st Runner up: Zoe Hecht (Oberlin)
Another sophomore standout, Zoe Hecht (nearly) needs no introduction in the D-III Women’s division after strong regular season and postseason performances. At times she looked like the best player on the field in the national final and wasn’t far off the conversation for our overall Player of the Year award — something likely to be the case again in the coming years.
Her recorded 17 assists and 9 goals in College Station highlight her ability to work both sides of the disc in the College Station conditions — watching Hecht strike to get into power position puts fear into defenders everywhere, and in short order she’ll be doing the same to the rest of the world with the U24 team this summer.
2nd Runner up: Maggie Johnson (North Park)
In the Cinderella run that ended with No. 14 seed North Park tied for third in the country, senior handler Maggie Johnson helped keep the story alive with her rock-steady handling under pressure.
With fewer than two lines worth of players at Nationals, Johnson literally centered Allihopa on the field in the windy conditions. The senior star’s ability to work against other team’s zones and keep the disc in motion — without sacrificing possession — kept North Park winning games and their 2019 season alive well beyond anyone’s expectations for a bottom-of-the-pool seeded team.
