UW women’s soccer has become a major threat in the tough Big Ten conference since the hire of Paula Wilkins as head coach. One of the key components to that rising stature has been the addition of superstar Rose Lavelle nearly four years ago.
As Lavelle enters her final season in a Badgers uniform, she’ll do it with plenty of eyes on her after being named the Big Ten Midfielder of the Year last season. Lavelle will also enter this season on the minds of the voters for the MAC Hermann Trophy, which is handed out yearly to the best overall player in both the men’s and women’s side of collegiate soccer.
Last season, Lavelle was one of 15 semifinalists for the award. It was just the second time that a Badger had gotten that far on the list of the most prestigious award in college soccer.
It also doesn’t hurt Lavelle’s case in 2016 that she was the only unanimous selection to the All-Big Ten team in 2015 and has been named to the first team All-Big Ten list every year of her career at Wisconsin so far.
Lavelle was an offensive juggernaut, leading the Badgers to their first Big Ten regular season title since 1994 on the strength of her team-best seven goals and three assists for 17 points on the year.
The initial list for the MAC Hermann Trophy will be cut down to 30 semifinalists (15 men, 15 women) and paired down to just three men and three women with the winners announced in early January.
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