ROSEMONT, Ill. – After winning the Big Ten Regular Season title for the fifth year in a row, four Terps earned 2019 Big Ten individual honors, as voted on by the league's seven coaches and announced by the conference Monday afternoon.
Senior Jen Giles was named the Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, senior Julia Braig was selected as the Big Ten Defender of the Year and senior Megan Taylor earned Big Ten Goaltender of the Year honors.
Head coach Cathy Reese was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year for the fourth time in five years in the conference, marking the 11th time in Reese's career she's been named conference coach of the year. Under Reese, Maryland has gone 28-0 in Big Ten regular season games and 35-2 against conference opponents as a whole.
Giles leads Maryland with 50 goals, 22 assists and 72 points while standing second on the team with 31 groundballs. In Big Ten play, Giles has 15 goals and six assists for a team-best 21 goals. A captain on this years team, Giles had four goals and an assist in the Terps win over No. 7 Michigan and has had at least two goals in each Big Ten regular season game. Giles is third in the conference in goals and assists and fifth in points. A captain on this year's team, Giles is a Tewaaraton nominee, 2018 First Team All-American, three-time All-Big Ten and 2x NCAA All-Tournament Team selection.
Braig leads Maryland's tenacious defense, which is fifth in the country and first in the Big Ten, holding opponents to just 7.74 goals per game. Defending the opponents best player, Braig has been key to holding 13 opponents to under 10 goals and seven opponents to under five goals. Also a captain on this years team, Braig leads Maryland with 17 caused turnovers and also has tallied 23 groundballs. This is the second-straight year that Braig has been named the Big Ten Defender of the Year and is also a Tewaaraton nominee, 2018 First Team All-American, three-time All-Big Ten and two-time All-Big Ten Tournament Team selection.
Taylor has been spectacular in goal all season long, leading the country with a 56.3 save percentage, 178 saves to only 138 goals allowed. In conference play, Taylor had a 58.8 save percentage with 50 saves and 35 goals allowed. Taylor has been incremental to a defense that has held opponents to just over seven goals per game, tallying over a 50-percent save percentage in 15 of 19 games this season. The senior shut Ohio State out in the first half this season and held Michigan to only one goal in a half this season. Taylor led the league, earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors for a conference record six times from March 5 to April 9. Taylor has been named the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year in all four years as a Terp, the only time a player has ever had that distinction. The Terrapin captain is also a Tewaaraton nominee, the 2017 National Goaltender of the Year, two-time All-American and three-time All-Big Ten selection.
Maryland has won the Big Ten Defender of the Year award in each of its five years in the conference, with Braig now becoming the first Terp to win twice, while this is Taylor's fourth year in a row winning Goaltender of the Year. Giles is the third Maryland midfielder to earn Midfielder of the Year honors, joining Taylor Cummings (2015-16) and Zoe Stukenberg (2017)
Northwestern earned the conferenes other awards, with Selena Lasota being named the Big Ten Attacker of the Year, Izzy Scane being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Kelly Amonte Hiller being selected as the Co-Coach of the Year with Reese.
The Terps will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament this weekend. Maryland will face the winner of the Stony Brook-James Madison first round game on Sunday at noon at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.
