West Ottawa's Ella Spooner is Holland Sentinel's Girls lacrosse Player of the Year
HOLLAND TWP. — On any night during the girls lacrosse season, one looks at the local box scores, and one name would stick out among the rest.
West Ottawa's Ella Spooner seemed to break her own records every night, whether that be with goals or assists. The senior has undoubtedly finished her career with the Panthers as the best player in program history and has earned all-conference honors and the title of Holland Sentinel's Girls Lacrosse Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
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Spooner, who is committed to play lacrosse at Kalamazoo College next year, set a new school record for goals in a single game with 13 back in April. Less than a month later, she broke it again with 15 in a win over Zeeland. Not only is that a new high-water mark for the Panthers, but it's tied for second-most goals in a single game in MHSAA girls lacrosse history.
Aliisa Mason, one of West Ottawa's co-head coaches, knew those goals were going to come whenever Spooner laced up her cleats. It's not just her ability to finish at the net that makes her special, though. It's what she does all over the field all night long.
"She just has this intensity about her that is really unmatched, she works so hard on all areas of the field," Mason said. "Yeah, her goals are amazing to see, but she earns them by playing strong defense in the midfield or making plays, earning the draw."
Spooner was a human highlight reel in 2021 but took it to another level for her final season of high school lacrosse. During her junior campaign she was a pure scorer, but put too much pressure on herself to get everything done. This year, while she still led the team in scoring by a wide margin, she became much more comfortable becoming a distributor and finding the open player when she was double or triple-teamed by the opposition.
She's also become more comfortable using both her dominant left and non-dominant right hand to get shots and passes away, making it virtually impossible for defenders to tell what she's going to do when the ball is in her stick. She's also made a few trips up to Kalamazoo and watched her future team first-hand with her future coaches and that's helped her mentally get ready for the jump to NCAA lacrosse.
"I'm so much more ready, my lacrosse IQ has gone up, my skills have gone up and my brief time learning from Kalamazoo's coach [Jessica Smith] has helped," Spooner said. "I've been able to use some of what she's told me she has planned for me and to put it on the field here this season."
While her IQ on the field has gone up this year, her IQ in the classroom has never been an issue. Not only did she get accepted to the academically prestigious Kalamazoo, but she also earned valedictorian honors at West Ottawa.
On top of her prowess in the classroom and with a stick in her hand, she still finds time to help out with West Ottawa's LINKS program that focuses on helping students with disabilities with socialization, independence and academics.
Spooner is not only the epitome of a student-athlete but also has been that of a model high schooler that all Panther lacrosse players will look up to for quite some time.
"The fact that she's able to perform on the field and still be a leader in the classroom is [incredible]," Mason said. "She does everything all-around and it's really great to see someone who is so well-rounded."
—Contact Assistant Sports Editor Will Kennedy at Will.Kennedy@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @ByWillKennedy and Facebook @Holland Sentinel Sports.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: West Ottawa's Ella Spooner named girls lacrosse player of the year
