The Illinois State womens soccer team announced goalkeeper Allison Farrington as the 2002 Most Valuable Player at the annual post-season banquet.
Farrington, a native of Libertyville, Ill., earned MVP honors for her efforts in the goal and finished the season ranked No. 12 in NCAA Division I soccer for a goals against average mark of .670. She was honored as the Valley Defensive Player of the Week three times throughout the 2002 season, and was an All-Valley Honorable Mention. In addition, Farrington was named to the Valley All-Tournament Team.
Heather Forsyth, a sophomore from Burlington, Ontario, and Melissa Colthrust, a senior and native of Mississauga, Ontario, were named as the Co-Defensive Redbirds of the Year. The Redbird defense finished the season at No. 18 for NCAA Division I team goals against average (.766) and allowed only 15 goals on the season.
Forsyth received All-Valley Honorable Mention and Valley Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention nods and was a member of the Valley All-Tournament Team. Colthrust, the Valley Defensive Player of the Year, was selected to the All-Valley First Team, the Valley Scholar-Athlete Team, and the NSCCA/addidas Womens Soccer Division-I 2002 Great Lakes All-Region Third Team.
The Offensive Redbird Player of the Year went to senior Annie Wayland. Wayland finished her senior campaign with nine goals and 59 on her career, making her the leading scorer in Redbird history. She also led the team in points this season with 20, and finished her career with 126, making her the leader for points scored in Redbird history.
Freshman Dana Almdale earned the Most Improved Redbird of the Year award. Almdale played in 15 games and started two games. She completed her first season as a Redbird with one assist and one point. Almdale took five shots, one on goal.
The Redbirds finished the 2002 campaign with an overall record of 12-5-2, 5-1-1 in the Valley. Illinois State earned a spot in the Valley Tournament championship game for the first time since 1998, but lost to Creighton, 1-0 in overtime.
