Melissa Colthrust, a senior defensive player for the Illinois State womens soccer team, has been named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas womens soccer Division I 2002 Great Lakes All-Region Third Team.
Colthrust, a native of Mississauga, Ontario, was honored as the 2002 Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year. She was also named to the All-Valley First Team and the Valley Scholar-Athlete Team.
The co-captain of the 2002 Redbirds, Colthrust led the defense which finished the year at No. 18 in Division I womens soccer for a goals against average mark of .760, but was ranked as high as No. 10 (Oct. 24) with a mark of .560.
Illinois State played itself into the championship game of the Valley tournament for the first time since 1998, but lost to Creighton, 1-0, in overtime. The Redbirds finished the season with an overall record of 12-5-2.
