England's Lily Owsley named hockey's Rising Star of the Year
By Dev Trehan
Last Updated: 26/01/16 2:30pm
England and Great Britain forward Lily Owsley has been named as the 2015 Rising Star of the Year by the International Hockey Federation.
The University of Birmingham star, who made her international debut in June 2013, beat off competition from New Zealand's Rose Keddell, Charlotte Stapenhorst of Germany and Netherlands duo Xan De Waard and Maria Verschoor to land the accolade.
"Sophie Bray dropped me a text about it but didn't really let on what it was, so I jumped on Twitter to find out and I couldn't really believe it to be honest," Owsley told Tuesday's Sportswomen show on Sky Sports News HQ.
The year has been particularly successful for Owsley and her team-mates with the 21-year-old playing a pivotal role in Great Britain's unbeaten run at the World League Semi-Finals in Antwerp, a competition which Danny Kerry's side won and in the process, secured Olympic Qualification.
Owsley netted the winning goal in the semi-final against Germany to help Great Britain to seal their place in Rio.
The youngster was also part of the England side that clinched the EuroHockey championships. She scored the all-important equaliser against the Netherlands in the final, which sent the match to a penalty shootout which England eventually won, clinching their first European title in 24 years.
