EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) - Megan Hanson, who played for the UW-Eau Claire women's soccer team from 2012 through 2015, is the recipient of the 2016 Sandy Schumacher Courage Award.
The award will be presented at the UW-Eau Claire Blugold Hall of Fame banquet Friday, September 30. The banquet is open to the public and tickets, which are $25, can be obtained by contacting the UWEC Alumni Office at 715 836-3266 or larsojan@uwec.edu. The awards program will begin at 6:30 p.m. preceded by a social at 4:30 p.m. and dinner at 5:30 p.m.
The Sandy Schumacher Courage Award was established in the fall of 2012 to honor the long-time Blugold coach, teacher and pioneer. Schumacher was an advocate for young girls and women in athletics and had a role in starting numerous athletics programs for women on the UWEC campus. She also conducted the first volleyball and basketball camps for girls.
Schumacher, who was inducted into the Blugold Hall of Fame in 1995, battled cancer for more than two decades but lost her battle in 2012. Even in the months prior to her death, Schumacher could be found on the Blugold sidelines, intently watching the action.
The Sandy Schumacher Courage Award is presented to a female Blugold student-athlete or alumna who, when confronted with a life-altering situation, used perseverance, dedication and determination to overcome the event.
Two weeks before the start of her freshman season in college, Hanson lost her mother to cancer. Before her mother Joan passed away, she told Blugold soccer coach Sean Yengo that she wanted Megan to play soccer. She believed that being a member of the Blugold team would be the best thing for her during this very difficult time, said Yengo. It also allowed her father Jim and sister Molly to reunite with her regularly as they attended Blugold soccer games.
During her four seasons as a Blugold, Megan dedicated every game to her mother. There is also a special bench at the Blugolds' Bollinger Field pitch in memory of her mother. In addition, Yengo said that last year the team dedicated its "Playing for a Cause" game to the Joan Hanson Foundation in memory of Megan's mother.
Hanson, a defender from Verona, played four seasons for the Blugolds and was named team captain her senior year. She had to persevere through a knee injury prior to her senior season but came back for the final six games of the season which included scoring her only career goal.
The previous Schumacher award winners were Liz Amici, Callie Halama, Reece Krings, Renee Cook Smith, Nicole Christianson and Nancy Tietz Lovaas.