Southam B1G Offensive Player of the Year; Four Wolverines Named All-Big Ten
11/3/2021 12:00:00 PM | Field Hockey
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- University of Michigan senior Sofia Southam, a forward on the Wolverine field hockey team, has been named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, the league office announced Wednesday (Nov. 3). Southam also was one of four Wolverines selected to the All-Big Ten teams.
Southam and fifth-year senior Halle O'Neill were selected to the All-Big Ten first team, while senior Kathryn Peterson and sophomore Anouk Veen were named second-team honorees. It is O'Neill and Peterson's third All-Big Ten accolade -- O'Neill is a three-time first-teamer -- while Southam and Veen garner the honor for the first time in their careers.
Southam becomes the eighth different Wolverine to be named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, earning the program's ninth total offensive accolade, and the first since Emma Way in 2018. Michigan has claimed 25 Big Ten yearly awards since 1997.
Southam leads the Big Ten and ranks second nationally with 1.29 goals per game and ranks second nationally with 2.71 points per game. She boasts a career-best 18 goals on the season -- the most for a Wolverine player since Way tallied 19 in 2018 -- with four game-winners and four multi-goal games. She owns 29 career goals after entering the fall with 11 over her first three seasons.
O'Neill, the Wolverines' field general, has been a key component of the Wolverine defensive unit -- one that has allowed only 1.11 goals and 7.37 total shots per game over the last five seasons -- since arriving in Ann Arbor. She also is a primary contributor on both the defensive- and attack penalty-corner units and owns 14 career goals and 12 assists. She is a three-time All-Big Ten first team honoree and the 2020 Big Ten Tournament MVP and was named an NFHCA first team All-American last spring.
Peterson, a three-time All-Big Ten second team selection who was named an NFHCA third team All-American in 2020-21, owns five goals and seven assists this season -- with 18 career goals and 22 assists -- as the inserter on Michigan's attack corner. She has been a major contributor to the Wolverines' midfield over the last four seasons.
Veen has been U-M's defensive anchor at the center back position since her arrival last season and contributed to a 0.89 goals-against average and 15 shutout victories over the last two years. A primary striker on the attack corner, Veen also has nine career goals -- five this season -- and four career assists.
Graduate student Kate Burney was selected as Michigan's recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. The award given annually to student-athletes who distinguish themselves through good sportsmanship and ethical behavior, as well as demonstrate academic excellence and good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
