Although the Wisconsin women’s soccer program has had its fair share of talented first-year players in its 20 years of existence, this season Rose Lavelle accomplished something no other rookie Badger has ever done. With the culmination of the Big Ten season this past weekend, the Big Ten Conference released its annual postseason awards Tuesday, and among those honored was Lavelle, who was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Wisconsin has had players named to the All-Big Ten team in previous seasons, but has never had a player win freshman of the year, an award that has been around since the start of Big Ten Conference play in 1994. Lavelle accounted for 19 points during the regular season for the Badgers, which included six goals and seven assists. Her six scores tied Lavelle with Kinley McNicoll for second-most on the squad, and her seven assists were second-most next to McNicoll’s 13 helpers.
The Big Ten award isn’t the only recognition Lavelle has reason this season, as earlier on this year she was named by TopDrawerSoccer.com as the sixth-best freshman in all of college soccer, making her presence known as one of the premier younger players in the college game.
But the awards this season aren’t the first for Lavelle, a Cincinnati native, who came to Wisconsin after a stellar prep career at Mount Notre Dame High School. After scoring 15 goals and 8 assists in her senior season last year at Mount Notre Dame, the Cincinnati Enquirer named Lavelle the Cincinnati Player of the Year. Lavelle also garnered honors as the Greater Cincinnati/Greater Kentucky Sportswoman of the Year earlier this year, following the conclusion of her prep career in which she set her school record for most goals in a career with 57. And in March of this year, Lavelle was named to the U20 U.S. National team for the Twelve Nations Tournament in Spain.
As Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Lavelle is also an All-Big Ten First Team honoree. McNicoll joined Lavelle as a member of the All-Big Ten First Team with her team leading 25 points and 13 assists. This year marks the first time since 2010 that Wisconsin has had two First Team All-Big Ten honorees.
