Meghan O’Brien, a senior attack player from Florida Southern College, was named the 2018 DII Honda Athlete of the Year nominee for Lacrosse as announced by Executive Director Chris Voelz of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) presented by Honda.

O’Brien is now designated one of 11 finalists for the prestigious DII Honda Woman Athlete of the Year. This will be voted on at the end of the academic year by national balloting among 1,000 NCAA member schools as part of THE CWSA program, now in its 42nd year.

O’Brien led her team to its third-straight NCAA Championship title game appearance and a second-straight runner-up finish. She is a three-time Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) first-team All-American and IWLCA first-team All-Region. She closed her career with seven Sunshine State Conference (SSC) titles after winning four regular season titles and the last three straight tournament titles.

The senior from Rochester, N.Y., led the SSC in assists and finished the season with 49 goals and 49 assists for 98 points overall. She helped her team to a school record 21 wins on the season and an NCAA Championship runner-up finish.

“​Wow, what an amazing honor for Meghan to be a Honda award nominee!” said head coach Kara Reber. “Thank you so much for this recognition of Meghan and all she has achieved for our program. She is an amazing lacrosse player and an even better person. We are so proud of Meghan and all she has accomplished."

All Honda Sports nominees from DII and DIII become a finalist for the prestigious 2018 Honda Woman Athlete of the Year in their respective divisions, presented in a live telecast on CBS Sports on June 25, 2018, in downtown Los Angeles. The Honda Sports nominees are recognized in 11 DII and DIII NCAA-sanctioned sports; cross country, basketball, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, volleyball, and track & field.

THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for 42 years, recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service.   Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.1 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs at the institutions.