Women's @ASUNSoccer All-Conference Announced; FGCU's Lillback Tabbed Player of the Year
Women's @ASUNSoccer All-Conference Announced; FGCU's Lillback Tabbed Player of the Year
All-Conference Teams/Awards
ATLANTA, Ga. - FGCU's Louise Lillback highlighted the ASUN Conference Women's Soccer Postseason All-Conference accolades with the Player of the Year honor, as voted on by the league head coaches. Three Lipscomb student-athletes earned superlative awards including Shelby Craft was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the second-straight season. Bisons' netminder CJ Graham was named the Goalkeeper of the Year, while Head Coach Kevin O'Brien garnered the Coach of the Year nod. Eastern Kentucky's Nerea De Diego collected the first-ever Freshman of the Year honor for the Colonels.
Lillback became the sixth Eagle in program history to be recognized as the Player of the Year after leading her team to the East Division's top seed with a 7-2 conference record. She was a unanimous selection to the All-Conference First Team after scoring 12 goals during the season with 11 coming in league play. The Sweden native tallied five game-winning goals placing her at eighth in the nation.
For the second-consecutive season, Craft took home the Defensive Player of the Year as she is the fourth Bison to capture the award in program history. The Texas native led a Lipscomb backline that posted a league-best 10 shutouts on the season. She also recorded four goals for eight points as she led Lipscomb to a berth in the ASUN Championship as the top seed in the West Division.
Graham became the third different Lipscomb student-athlete to garner the Goalkeeper of the Year award after she recorded a conference-best 10 shutouts. Graham topped the league with a .863 save percentage and a 0.57 goals-against average while starting in goal in all 17 matches for Lipscomb. The North Carolina native earned 12 wins between the pipes this season with seven coming in league action.
Diego started in all 17 games for the Colonels, netting three goals, one of which was a game-winner, and tallied one assist. She finished second on the team with 13 shots on goal and fifth in points (7). De Diego helped EKU close its first regular season in the conference with a berth in the ASUN Championship.
O'Brien earned his third Coach of the Year award after he guided Lipscomb to finish this season atop the West Division standings. His team posted 12 wins on the season with seven coming in conference action. The Bisons ended the regular season ranked first in multiple statistical categories including shots (301), shots-per-game (17.7), shots on goal (123) and shutouts (10).
Player of the Year: Louise Lillback, FGCU
Defensive Player of the Year: Shelby Craft, Lipscomb
Goalkeeper of the Year: CJ Graham, Lipscomb
Freshman of the Year: Nerea de Diego, Eastern Kentucky
Coach of the Year: Kevin O'Brien, Lipscomb
ASUN All-Conference First Team
GK - CJ Graham, Lipscomb, Fr., Swannanoa, N.C.
D - Gracie Hair, Central Arkansas, Sr., Tulsa, Okla.
D - Kajsa Lang, FGCU, Fr., Kalmar, Sweden
D - Madison Ellis, Liberty, Jr., Keller, Texas
D - Katia Hanger, Lipscomb, So., Alpharetta, Ga.
MF - Ashley Labbe, FGCU, Fr., Lake Worth, Fla.
MF - Ebony Clarke, Kennesaw State, So. Richmond, British Columbia
MF - Shelby Craft, Lipscomb, So., Frisco, Texas
*F - Louise Lillback, FGCU, So., Stockholm, Sweden
F - Emma Hawkins, Central Arkansas, Jr., Forney, Texas
F - Thais Reiss, North Florida, Sr., Curitiba, Brazil
ASUN All-Conference Second Team
GK - Randi Palacios, Liberty, Sr., Ashburn, Va. Org.
D - Leah Scarpelli, FGCU, So., Brick, N.J.
D - Eden Skyers, Jacksonville, Fr., Beckenham, London, England
D - Erin Miller, Kennesaw State, Jr., Marietta, Ga.
D - Lauren Weiss, North Florida, Fr., Green Cove Springs, Fla.
MF - Nerea de Diego, Eastern Kentucky, Fr., Castro Urdiales, Cantabria, España
MF - Kendall Higgs, Kennesaw State, Sr., Loxahatchee, Fla.
MF - Cami Rogers, Lipscomb, Jr., Prattville, Ala.
MF - Kendra Hoffman, North Florida, Sr., Trinity, Fla.
F - Kasey Jamieson, Liberty, Sr., Lansing, Mich.
F - Maddy Oliver, Liberty, So., Falls Church, Va.
F - Molly Grant, Lipscomb, So., Plainfield, Ill.
ASUN All-Freshmen Team
M - Nerea de Diego, Eastern Kentucky, Castro Urdiales, Cantabria, España
*MF - Olivia Lindstedt, FGCU, Gluumslove, Sweden
D - Adley Barham, Central Arkansas, Maumelle, Ark.
F - Gretta Gunn, Eastern Kentucky, West Chester, Ohio
MF - Rosa Horskjaer, FGCU, Copenhagen, Denmark
F - Selma Fohrer, Jacksonville, Krefeld, Germany
MF - Eden Skyers Jacksonville Beckenham, London, England
F - Macie Rainwater, Kennesaw State Kennesaw, Ga.
D - Aila Swinton, Kennesaw State Gulf Breeze, Fla.
D - Allyna Thurston, North Florida, Casselberry, Fla.
D - Lauren Weiss, North Florida, Green Cove Springs, Fla.
MF - Kyleigh Thelen, Stetson, Oviedo, Fla.
* - Denotes unanimous selection
ASUN Conference, Atlanta, Ga. - the only DI conference headquartered in the ATL, our footprint's primary media, sports, business, transportation and cultural hub
The ASUN, a Division I conference member of the NCAA, boasts a membership of institutions that share visionary leadership, bold ambition and creative innovation. As a nimble adaptive conference, unafraid to blaze a national pathway for better service to our student-athletes, teams, and institutions, the ASUN has a proud history of firsts, national academic and athletic achievements and a conference culture that walks the walk with its four ASUN Beams. Students First! Rise. Connect. Impact. #ASUNBuilt by Bellarmine (Louisville), Central Arkansas (Conway), Eastern Kentucky (Richmond), FGCU (Fort Myers), Jacksonville (Fla.), Jacksonville State (Jacksonville, Ala.), Kennesaw State (Ga.), Liberty (Lynchburg, Va.), Lipscomb (Nashville), North Alabama (Florence), North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.), and Stetson (DeLand, Fla.). Austin Peay, based in Clarksville, Tenn., is set to join the league in the 2022-23 academic year.