UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's lacrosse team had three players selected for season awards when the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced the All-GLIAC awards on Friday.
Freshman Gabby Parker highlighted the awards for SVSU with a second-team All-GLIAC selection. Parker was joined by Sarah Veale and Mikaila Stone on the honorable mention list.
Parker was the leading scorer for the Cardinals during the inaugural lacrosse season. She finished with 22 points, which included a team-high of 21 goals. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native added nine ground balls to her stat line. She tallied four hat tricks during the season, which included a six-goal outing in the season opener at Northwood. That total is a career-best for goals in a single game for her. Parker registered two additional games with multiple points, with a goal and an assist against Tiffin and two goals versus Concordia-St. Paul.
"Gabby has worked through injury and has put in work to show what is capable of on the offensive end. I am so excited to see how she grows in the coming years," said SVSU head lacrosse coach Cait Gaitley. "This is just the beginning for Gabby as she grows into an all-around threat on the field."
Veale completed the year as the leader in draw controls with 41 and caused turnovers with 15. She tied for second-most points on the team with nine, goals with eight, and ground balls with 34. She scored a career-best three points in a single game at Lake Erie.
"Sarah came in as a player who had never touched a stick and is just a natural athlete," said Gaitley. "She ended up leading our team in draw controls and was consistently contesting the other team's offense and making them work."
Stone started every game for Saginaw Valley in goal. She finished the year as the team leader in ground balls with 85 and made 134 saves on the season.
"Mikaila is an absolute powerhouse. She has raw talent and drive that can't be ignored. To face the amount of shots she did and consistently come in with a positive attitude and willingness to work is something you can only wish for in an athlete," lauded Gaitley.