NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (June 13, 2011) - Former William and Mary lacrosse standout Grace Golden will be honored as the 2011 Peninsula Sports Club W&M Athlete of the Year tonight at the organization's 62nd Annual Headliner's Night.

One of the greatest players in the Tribe's history, Golden recently concluded her collegiate career with an outstanding senior season this spring. Honored as an All-American by three organizations in 2011, the Manhasset, N.Y., native was also selected as a Tewaaraton Award nominee, which is given to the nation's top collegiate player. Additionally, the first-team all-region honoree was chosen as the 2011 Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year and became just the third player in league history to earn first-team all-conference distinction four times.

As a senior, Golden led the conference in goals per game (3.2), points per game (3.9), draw controls per game (3.1), caused turnovers per game (2.7) and game-winning goals (5), while she also ranked among the top 10 in ground balls per game. Additionally, her caused turnovers average ranked second nationally, while her goals average ranked 14th.

En route to achieving the lofty rankings, Golden broke the program's single-season caused turnovers record (45) and equaled the draw controls single-season mark of 52 established by classmate Molly Wannen last spring. Golden finished the regular season with 12 hat tricks and was honored as the CAA Player of the Week twice (2/28, 4/18). One of her best efforts came in the win against Richmond when she equaled a single-game school record with eight goals (on nine shots) with an assist.   

Golden owns W&M's school record for career draw controls (153), while she ranks second in career points (231) and goals (187). Additionally, she ranks among the program's all-time top 10 in assists, ground balls and caused turnovers.

Following her collegiate career, Golden recently earned the Aimee Willard Award after an outstanding performance at the 2011 Women's Division National Tournament in Stony Brook, N.Y. The event serves as the first round of tryouts for the 2011-12 U.S. women's national team, while the honor is presented to the event's top collegiate player.