Del Fava, Smith Earn Scholar-Athlete Honors

ST. LOUIS – Illinois State soccer's Kate Del Fava has been named to the Missouri Valley Conference 2017 Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete Team, while Haley Smith was named one of six honorable mention selections.

Seventeen student-athletes earned a spot on the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference women's soccer scholar-athlete teams, with 11 of those 17 student-athletes having a 3.90 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) or better, including five perfect 4.00s.

Del Fava, a sophomore defender, holds a perfect 4.00 GPA while majoring in Agriculture and Pre-Veterinary Medicine. She was also named to the All-MVC First team this season. Del fava was the anchor of a Redbird defense that had a 1.07 GAA in the 2017 season. She also scored two goals in 2017, both in conference matches and earned MVC Defensive Player of the Week. She is a member of the AFNI and MVC Honor Rolls.

Smith, a sophomore goalkeeper, holds a 3.92 GPA while majoring in Exercise Science. She was named MVC Goalkeeper of the Week three times in 2017 and made 84 saves on the season. She tallied a career-high 11 saves against Saint Louis on Aug. 25 and held a 1.11 GAA with 8 shutouts Smith is also a member of the AFNI and MVC Honor Rolls.

This season, 38 student-athletes were nominated for the Valley's scholar-athlete team. The criteria for the honor parallels the CoSIDA standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA (on a 4.00 scale). Also, students must have participated in at least 75 percent of the regular-season matches or the MVC Championship. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution (true freshmen and redshirt freshmen were not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at their institution. Sports Information Directors at MVC institutions voted for the team.                                          

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