(Story courtesy of Colorado College Athletic Communications)
NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. - Colorado College junior attacker Bella Beattie and sophomore goaltender Natalie Slade scored all-West Region honors from the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association in recognition of their performances during the 2021 season. To view the entire 2021 IWLCA All-Region Teams, click here.
Beattie was named to the first team, while Slade was a second-team selection. The honor is the first for each player.
Beattie, who previously was named Offensive Player of the Year by the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference as well as a first-team all-league selection, led the Tigers with career highs of 27 goals and 36 points, and was third with nine assists.
"Bella did a tremendous job this year stepping up to lead a very young attack," head coach Susan Stuart said. "As the only upper classman on the attack, she raised the level of her game to dominate all categories of stats for our entire team.
The Baltimore, Md., product recorded multiple goals in six of eight games, including eight in the 23-10 victory at Southwestern University when she matched Annie DeFrino's single-game record set during a 20-18 victory over Meredith College on April 28, 2018.
Beattie had at least one point in every game, with a career-high of nine on five goals and four assists in the 18-3 win over the Pirates on April 17 at Washburn Field.
In the 21-7 victory over Southwestern in the SCAC championship game, Beattie finished with four goals and two assists and was named the game's Offensive MVP.
Beattie also led the Tigers with a career-high 15 caused turnovers and tied for the team lead with a career-best 23 ground balls. She posted career highs of five ground balls and four caused turnovers against Southwestern at Washburn Field.
"The best part about watching Bella play, is that it always looks easy," Stuart said. "Her stick skills as well as her speed are very deceptive which takes her opponents by surprise every game. I am very proud of Bella in the strides she made this year on and off the field as a team leader."
In her first season as the team's starting goaltender, Slade started all eight games and posted a 7.58 goals-against average. In conference games, her GAA was a stellar 3.71 and she allowed only 22 goals in five total games against SCAC opponents.
"Natalie is an amazing athlete," Stuart said. "She brings a sense of calm every day at practice and every game. She is incredibly efficient with her movements in the net and makes spectacular saves look routine."
The first-team all-conference selection recorded a career-high 16 saves in the 10-7 victory over CSU-Pueblo and 12 in the SCAC Championship game against Southwestern.
Slade, who posted her first career shutout against the University of Dallas on April 18, also contributed career highs of 19 ground balls and five caused turnovers.
"Natalie's focus and concentration are highly developed which makes finding the ball in traffic easy," Stuart said. "As she grows and learns to lead the defense more, I know she will be one of the top goalkeepers in the country during her career."
Colorado College won its final six games to finish the season with a 6-2 record.
