The Tewaaraton Award Foundation is pleased to announce the winners of the 2006 Tewaaraton Trophy. Senior Matt Ward of the University of Virginia and junior Kristen Kjellman of Northwestern University earned the top national lacrosse honor for their respective performances throughout the season, which, in both cases, came to fruition in the form of a national championship.
Matt Ward, who has captained the Cavaliers for two years, led his team this season with 58 regular season points. He ranks fourth in Virginia history with 130 goals and is only the 13th Cavalier to receive All-ACC honors three times. Under Ward’s leadership, the Cavs have reached the Final Four three times, resulting in two national championships. As a freshman in 2003, Ward was one of just two players to total 20 goals and 20 assists.
Kristen Kjellman has also led her team to two national championships during her tenure at Northwestern, and this is the second consecutive year that she has been selected as a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy. Additionally, Kjellman was named the ALC’s Player of the Year and received First Team All-America honors for the second year in a row; as a freshman she was named to the second team.
Overall, Kjellman finished the season with 72 goals, 98 points and 91 draw controls, which included a hat trick in 17 different games. She ranked fourth in the nation with a 3.42 goals per game average and became just the second Wildcat to record three consecutive 50-goal seasons.
After leading their respective teams to national championships twice in their illustrious careers, both Ward and Kjellman proved themselves to be stellar lacrosse players and strong leaders. The Tewaaraton Foundation is proud to award the Tewaaraton Trophy for excellence in lacrosse to these two student-athletes.