Laura Tavares

8

Class: Junior Hometown: Oakville, Ontario, Canada High School: St. Thomas Aquinas

Height: 5-8 Position: Midfielder Birthdate: 02/13/1992

Awards/Honors
2012: Missouri State Athletics Director's Honor Roll ... Academic All-MAC Honorable Mention
2011: Academic All-MAC Honorable Mention ... Missouri State Athletics Director's Honor Roll

2012 Field Hockey
Started and appeared in 15 games for the Bears ... Tied for third on the team with eight points ... Scored a pair of goals and chipped in four assists.

2011 Field Hockey
Tavares was one of two Bears to start in all of MSU's 19 games ... Finished the season with one goal and two assists and a .333 shot percentage ... Also tossed in a defensive save ... Helped the Bears rank 38th in scoring average, 39th in goals per game, 28th in assists per game, 39th in points per game, and seventh in defensive saves per game ... Demonstrated a balanced effort in the classroom and on the field, earning Academic All-MAC Honorable Mention honors.

2010 Field Hockey
Tied for third on the team with four goals ... Also assisted on one goal ... Her nine points tied for third ... Started 19 games and appeared in all 20 ... Tied with Hillary Lawless for the most goals by a freshman ... Contributed on both ends, with a game-winning goal as well as one defensive save ... Scored two goals and assisted on another in her first game as a Bear, a 7-1 win over Lindenwood (8/28) ... Her late goal against Miami (10/24) forced overtime.

Background
Tavares came to Missouri State after starting all four years for St. Thomas Aquinas High School and coach Jean Major ... Serving as captain, her teams went a combined 21-2-1 her last two seasons, finishing first in the conference her junior year and second her senior season ... For her efforts, Tavares was named the team's Most Valuable Player her junior and senior seasons ... Played in her division's High School Varsity All-Star Game her senior sesaon ... Was a four-time Honor Roll student at St. Thomas Aquinas ... Has spent time with the Under-18 Ontario Indoor Field Hockey Team, the U18 and Women's Mississauga Field Hockey Club, U18 Ontario Provincial Field Hockey Team and the U18 Saskatchewan Field Hockey Team ... Captained the U16 Ontario Provincial Team.

Personal
Laura Marie Tavares was born Feb. 13, 1992, in Oakville, Ontario, Canada ... Daughter of Joe and Barb Tavares ... Majoring in fashion merchandising ... Has a sister, Barbara ... Her brother, John, was the first overall pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, going to the New York Islanders.