COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Five members of the Ursinus College field hockey team – senior midfielder Megan Keenan (Sinking Spring, Pa./Wilson), senior goalkeeper Danielle DeSpirito (Mountaintop, Pa./Crestwood), junior forward Amber Steigerwalt (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South), junior defender Aliki Torrence (Reading, Pa./Exeter), and freshman defender Bridget Sherry (Swarthmore, Pa./Strath Haven) – were named to the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-South Region team. Keenan, DeSpirito, Steigerwalt, and Torrence were named to the first team, while Sherry was recognized on the second team for the Bears, whose four first-team honorees marked the program's highest total since 2008.
Keenan landed on her fourth consecutive all-region first team after another spectacular season. The star midfielder finished with 21 goals and 20 assists (62 points), ranking second in Division III in assists per game (0.95) and ninth in points per game (2.67) through games of November 15. Keenan was chosen Centennial Conference Player of the Year for the third straight season – matching Swarthmore's Danielle Duffy (1995-1997) to accomplish that feat – and became the first player in conference history to earn four straight first-team all-conference nods.
A first-team NFCHA All-American each of the last two seasons, Keenan was named the South Region's Player of the Year in 2014. That year, she was also honored as the CC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and as the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Performer of the Year. Last week, Keenan was honored on the first-ever Fall Academic All-Centennial Team. Keenan leaves Ursinus as the school's all-time leader in shots (519, CC record) and stands second in assists (52), goals (76, 2nd CC), and points (204, 3rd CC).
DeSpirito ascended to all-region first team status after a second-team accolade in 2014. The veteran netminder posted eight shutouts for a defense that held 13 teams off the scoreboard this year. Torrence was the backbone of that unit, which conceded exactly a goal per contest to rank 12th nationally. She started all 23 games for the Bears, scoring her first collegiate goal and recording a defensive save. Torrence's all-region selection is the third of her career; she was a first-team choice in 2014 and made the second team in 2013.
Steigerwalt took her place as one of the conference's most prolific athletes with a breakout, 52-point campaign. She matched Keenan with 21 goals to tie for the CC lead and place 15th in Division III and added nine assists, good for third in the league. Steigerwalt registered six game-winning goals, including the opening tally in the Bears' NCAA Tournament victories over Stevens and Rochester, and exploded for three goals and an assist in the CC semifinals against Haverford before assisting on the game's lone goal as Ursinus captured its 11th league title in 12 seasons with a 1-0 triumph at Franklin & Marshall.
Sherry is the first Ursinus rookie to earn all-region honors since Keenan in 2012. She appeared in all 23 games, starting 16, and notched a defensive save.
Ursinus finished the 2015 campaign with a record of 19-4 and advanced all the way to the NCAA semifinals, where the Bears were defeated by top-ranked Bowdoin.
The 2015 Longstreth/NFHCA Division III Regional Players of the Year will be announced on December 2, with the All-America Teams to follow on December 7 and the National Player of the Year coming on December 9.