OMAHA, Neb. - Five Illinois State soccer players were honored at the annual Missouri Valley Conference awards banquet held Thursday evening in Omaha, Neb.
Juniors Jessica Carlson and Natalie McCabe were selected to the All-Valley First Team, senior Alyssa Schulz received All-Valley Second Team accolades and freshmen Allie Newsom and Anna Stinson were named to the MVC All-Freshman Team in addition to earning All-Valley Honorable Mention nods.
Carlson earned her third All-Valley honor as she was named to the All-Valley First Team last season and was selected to the Valley All-Freshman Team in 2008. The junior forward has been named the MVC Offensive Player of the Week twice this season and leads the Redbirds with six goals, five assists and 17 points. Carlson has netted three game-winners for ISU this season and ranks second in school history with 21 goals, 12 assists and 54 points.
McCabe has been the leader in the Illinois State backfield and has led a Redbird defensive unit that has recorded four shutouts and posted a 1.20 goals against average. The junior back has started every game for ISU this season.
"This is nothing new for Jess, as she has been dominant player in this conference for the last two seasons," head coach Drew Roff said. "I am also very excited to see Natalie get recognized, because I have told her that she is the most talented player we have that has never been recognized. She has made the move to center back this season and she has proven that it is where she belongs."
Schulz, who was an All-Valley Second-Team selection last season, received the same honor this year after tallying eight points on three goals and a pair of assists. The senior forward recorded the game-winner for the Redbirds in their first victory of the year, a 2-1 triumph at Kent State.
"Alyssa is a great role model for our younger players and is a great student and a great player," Roff said. "With her reputation as a goal scorer and with her great speed, she really attracts a lot of attention from the other teams. A lot of teams have to adjust to her speed and she always draws the other team's best defender, which opens up some things for other players. It is nice to see her recognition again this year."
Newsom has been a key contributor in the midfielder for Illinois State in her first season as a Redbird. The Manteno, Ill., native has played both offensive and defensive roles for ISU and netted her first career goal, which proved to be the game-winner, in Illinois State's 3-2 win at Evansville.
Stinson has missed three games this season due to injury, but has played a vital offensive role for the Redbirds. She has recorded five points on two goals and an assist and netted game-winners against DePaul and Northern Illinois.
"We have relied on freshman to play key roles for us this season and Allie and Anna have responded in tremendous fashion," Roff added. "Anna is a player that is a playmaker for us and she has been able to get a lot of experience and continues to get better each and every week. Allie is a player that has really improved from week to week and it is great to see a player that came into this program without a lot of fanfare and recognition to win an award like this. She is a very consistent player that plays to her strengths and she is a very intelligent player. The entire freshman class in general has been tremendous and there are some others that will definitely been on these all-conference teams in the future."
Creighton's Brittney Neumann was named the MVC Most Valuable Player, Missouri State's Jordan took home Defensive Player of the Year honors and the Creighton coaching staff received Coaching Staff of the Year accolades after guiding the Bluejays to their first Valley regular-season championship since 2002.
Illinois State is looking to repeat as MVC Tournament champions after defeating Creighton, 1-0, in last year's title game and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003. The Redbirds will take on Missouri State in the first of two semifinals tomorrow at Morrison Stadium at 3:30 p.m.
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