The Maryland women’s lacrosse team won the national championship Sunday. Now, they have another individual accolade to add, as senior midfielder Zoe Stukenberg won the Tewaaraton Award on Thursday as the nation’s most outstanding player.
The Terps (23-0), who finished undefeated for the first time since 2001, won numerous awards this season. They received weekly conference awards throughout the campaign and took home five of six Big Ten player/coach of the year awards in May.
Stukenberg had already been named Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, was named an IWLCA First Team All-American and received her third-straight Elite 90 Award, given to the Final Four participant with the highest cumulative GPA.
On top of it all, the co-captain is now considered the nation’s best player, becoming the sixth straight Terp and eighth overall to earn the honor.
Jen Adams won it in the inaugural season in 2001. Current assistant coach Caitlyn McFadden (now Phipps) followed her in 2010 before Katie Schwarzmann won two straight in 2012 and 2013. Then midfielder Taylor Cummings became the first-ever three-time winner, earning it in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Stukenberg was the Terps’ do-it-all player in the midfield as she’s in the top-three on the team in every major statistic—goals, assists, points, ground balls, draw controls and caused turnovers. Corralling 74 draws coming off the center circle, she totaled the ninth-most draw controls in a single season in school history despite not taking the faceoffs.
Her 53 goals and 31 assists were both career-best postings as Stukenberg departs College Park the ninth-highest goal scorer in Maryland history.
“We feed off of her energy all over the field,” coach Cathy Reese said of Stukenberg after a win over Penn State on April 20. “She plays with so much heart, hustle, passion and enthusiasm and it’s just contagious all over the field. She’s that leader for us.”
Defender Nadine Hadnagy, Stukenberg’s fellow co-captain, was also a finalist for the award. After the title game victory last weekend, Reese called the careers of the pair “special,” labeling them as huge parts of the team’s success over the past four years.
Along with Hadnagy, Stukenberg beat Princeton attacker Olivia Hompe, Stony Brook attacker Kylie Ohlmiller and North Carolina midfielder Marie McCool for the honor.
