Amy Cooke Named Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year
11/05/2015 | Field Hockey
PHILADELPHIA – Richmond senior back Amy Cooke has been named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, the conference announced Thursday.
Cooke also earned All-Atlantic 10 First Team honors, joined by junior forward Kelly Quinn on the first team. Senior forward Taylor Deitrick and sophomore forward Megan Miller were tabbed for the All-Conference Second Team. Goalkeeper Emily Braunewell was picked for the All-Rookie Team, while senior Avery Safford earned a spot on the All-Academic Team.
A native of Ballyclaire, Northern Ireland, Cooke carries on a proud tradition of Spider superlatives on the end-of-season awards. With the Defensive Player of the Year title in 2015, the Spiders have now won either the Offensive, Defensive or Rookie of the Year awards in all but two seasons since 2001. The Spiders have won 18 superlative awards since 2001, more than any other Atlantic 10 team over that span.
Cooke has also been named to the All-Atlantic 10 First Team in all four of her seasons in a Spider uniform. She led Richmond's defense, which ranked first in the league in scoring margin, goals-against average and shutouts against conference opponents. She also scored three goals with two assists as the point of Richmond's penalty corner attack.
Quinn earns her first spot on the All-Atlantic 10 First Team after making the All-Freshman team in 2013. The junior forward led Richmond in goals (7) and points scored (17), ranking fifth in league-only stats in points. Her shot percentage of .467 was also a team high as Quinn scored three game-winning goals for the Spiders.
Deitrick and Miller earned spots on the All-A-10 Second Team after strong seasons controlling the ball through the midfield and into the attacking third. Miller was on the All-Freshman team last season, while Deitrick earned Second Team honors in 2013 and 2012. Deitrick finished with three goals and two assists, including a game-winner in the Spiders' eight conference games, while Miller had a goal and three assists on the season.
Freshman goalkeeper Emily Braunewell was named to the All-Rookie team after a fantastic freshman campaign in goal. She split time with sophomore Amanda Hoyt, but still posted three shutouts and only allowed three total goals against A-10 teams, good for second in the conference. Her 18 saves in a game against No. 4 UVA tied for the most by any A-10 goalie in a game this season.
Senior Avery Safford was selected to the conference All-Academic Team. A psychology major, Safford tied for first in the A-10 with nine assists. She was second on the UR squad with 13 total points.
Richmond enters Friday's Atlantic 10 Tournament as the top seed after finishing the regular season at 7-1 in conference play. The Spiders will face the Davidson Wildcats in the second semifinal game at 2 p.m. on the campus of Saint Joseph's University. Davidson was the only team to defeat Richmond in conference play, winning a 1-0 overtime battle at Davidson back in October. Cooke did not play in that game due to injury.
UR will be going for its ninth league championship after Richmond won last year's tournament at home at Crenshaw Field. Head coach Gina Lucido has won three A-10 tournaments in her previous eight seasons as head coach for the Spiders, but never back-to-back titles.
Fans can watch the A-10 Tournament action on the Atlantic 10 Network here, and follow the Spiders on social media at @SpiderHockey.
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