FRISCO, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana women's soccer head coach Chris McBride was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year while
Dalton Fish,
Megan Gordon,
Emma Jones,
Mya Guillory and
Makenzie Maher all were named to the 2020 All-Southland Conference Women's Soccer team, the league office announced Monday.
Jones, Fish and Gordon each earned first team All-Southland selections while Guillory and Maher were named to the second team. Maher was selected as Southland Newcomer of the Year while Jones was Freshman of the Year.
"I'm extremely excited for our student athletes for their accomplishments this year," said McBride. "The whole team has worked tirelessly since August to not have the season we had in 2019 and I'm very proud of the team's improvements this year."
McBride, in his fourth year as Lady Lions head coach, helped guide SLU (6-2-3 Southland) to an eight-match unbeaten streak (5-0-3) to end the regular season. Despite being picked 11
th in the preseason poll, SLU finished fifth in the standings punching their ticket to the Southland Conference Tournament. The eight-game conference unbeaten streak is the longest in the 25-year history of the Southeastern soccer program. SLU also finished with an unbeaten record at home (5-0-1).
Jones, a defender, started all 11 matches and played in all but one minute for the entire season as she was tabbed Freshman of the Year in the conference. The Dripping Springs, Texas native helped the SLU defense to five shutouts in 11 matches, including a streak of 574 minutes without allowing a goal.
"Emma arrived in August very eager to start her college career," said McBride. "And immediately had an impact. She came in and worked relentlessly all fall and earned a starting spot this spring, she's helped push the whole team to be defensively sound this year."
Fish, also a defender, started all 11 matches as well playing all but 10 minutes for the season. The junior was a vital piece of the Lady Lions' backline that allowed just three goals in the last eight matches.
Gordon, out of Clophill, England, had played every minute of every match including six overtimes before the season finale against Nicholls. Her senior leadership and ability to
break up opponent's attacks and create attacks for SLU was instrumental.
Guillory, a sophomore, led the Lady Lions with six goals. The Prairieville, Louisiana native ranked in the top five in the Southland in goals, points (15), shots (35) and game winning-goals (2). The second-team All-Southland selection scored the golden goal in the SLU's season opening victory over Lamar, 3-2, in double overtime.
Maher, the newly crowned conference Newcomer of the Year, scored five goals on the season and in five different matches. The sophomore led the team in shots on goal with 17, which was fifth in the Southland. A Denham Springs, Louisiana native, Maher accounted for nearly one-third of SLU's goals scored.
"Makenzie was another player who was very eager to get started this year," said McBride. "She's been craving feedback all year on her performances and worked very hard on her game. Her aggressiveness and work rate have helped our whole team create some attacking opportunities this year."
Monday marks the first time since the 2014 season that the Lady Lions got five or more on the All-Southland team.
McBride and the Lady Lions will now turn their attention to the Southland Conference Tournament. SLU will take on fourth-seeded Northwestern State (9-3-1, 7-3-1 Southland) Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Beaumont, Texas.
2020 Southland Conference Soccer All-Conference Teams/Individual Superlatives
Player of the Year: Esther Okoronkwo, Lamar
Freshman of the Year: Emma Jones, Southeastern Louisiana
Newcomer of the Year: Makenzie Maher, Southeastern Louisiana
Defender of the Year: Nicole Henry, Northwestern State
Midfielder of the Year: Madison Ledet, Lamar
Forward of the Year: Esther Okoronkwo, Lamar
Goalkeeper of the Year: Acelya Aydogmus, Northwestern State
Coach of the Year: Christopher McBride, Southeastern Louisiana
First Team
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| D |
Hallie Field2 |
Northwestern State |
So. |
Frisco, Texas |
| D |
Dalton Fish |
SLU |
Jr. |
Pflugerville, Texas |
| D |
Nicole Henry2 |
Northwestern State |
Jr. |
Tomball, Texas |
| D |
Jamie Jezierski |
Stephen F. Austin |
R-Fr. |
Spring, Texas |
| D |
Emma Jones |
SLU |
Fr. |
Dripping Springs, Texas |
| MF |
Isabella Beletic2 |
UIW |
Sr. |
Corpus Christi, Texas |
| MF |
Megan Gordon |
SLU |
Sr. |
Clophill, England |
| MF |
Madison Ledet2 |
Lamar |
Sr. |
Nederland, Texas |
| MF |
Alexis Weaver |
Northwestern State |
Sr. |
Venice, Fla. |
| F |
Christina Arteaga4 |
Abilene Christian |
Sr. |
Pflugerville, Texas |
| F |
Emma Hawkins2 |
Central Arkansas |
So. |
Forney, Texas |
| F |
Esther Okoronkwo2 |
Lamar |
R-Sr. |
Richmond, Texas |
| F |
Katelyn Termini2 |
Stephen F. Austin |
Sr. |
Frisco, Texas |
| GK |
Acelya Aydogmus |
Northwestern State |
Jr. |
Cape Coral, Fla. |
Second Team
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| D |
Eve Clarkson |
UIW |
So. |
Whalley, England |
| D |
Sophia Manibo2 |
Lamar |
Sr. |
Beaumont, Texas |
| D |
Meg Sheppard |
Lamar |
So. |
Nederland, Texas |
| MF |
Natalie Jones2 |
Abilene Christian |
So. |
Lubbock, Texas |
| MF |
Brooke Jones |
Sam Houston |
So. |
Aledo, Texas |
| MF |
Kaisa Juvonen2 |
Lamar |
So. |
Tampere, Finland |
| MF |
Megan Paul |
Abilene Christian |
R-Sr. |
Wylie, Texas |
| F |
Mya Guillory |
SLU |
So. |
Prairieville, La. |
| F |
Havana Johnson3 |
McNeese |
Sr. |
Coeur D'Alene, Idaho |
| F |
Christine Kitaru |
Lamar |
Jr. |
Nairobi, Kenya |
| F |
Makenzie Maher |
SLU |
So. |
Denham Springs, La. |
| GK |
Nicole Panis |
Lamar |
So. |
Opmeer, Netherlands |
Third Team
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| D |
Ellen Joss |
Abilene Christian |
Jr. |
Louisville, Ky. |
| D |
Paige Kanipes |
Stephen F. Austin |
Jr. |
Houston, Texas |
| D |
Megan Rickert |
Houston Baptist |
Sr. |
Round Rock, Texas |
| D |
Gabby Symmank |
Abilene Christian |
Sr. |
McKinney, Texas |
| MF |
Abby Gibson |
Central Arkansas |
So. |
Magnolia, Texas |
| MF |
Caylon McMillan |
Stephen F. Austin |
R-Sr. |
Forney, Texas |
| MF |
Sophie Smith |
Stephen F. Austin |
R-So. |
Colleyville, Texas |
| MF |
Hannah Walsh2 |
UIW |
So. |
Preston, England |
| F |
Destiny Davis |
Stephen F. Austin |
Sr. |
San Antonio, Texas |
| F |
Olivia Draguicevich |
Northwestern State |
So. |
Pflugerville, Texas |
| F |
Teia Haynes |
Stephen F. Austin |
Jr. |
Cypress, Texas |
| F |
Sierra Wannamaker |
UIW |
Fr. |
San Antonio, Texas |
| GK |
Madeline Talbot2 |
Stephen F. Austin |
Sr. |
Shreveport, La. |
2 – Two-time all-conference selection
3 – Three-time all-conference selection
4 – Four-time all-conference selection
SCORE ONE MORE CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the women's soccer program are encouraged to join the Score One More Club. Lion alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners. All membership fees and donations to Score One More Club are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern soccer program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at
laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting
www.LionUp.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Soccer, follow @LionUpSoccer and @chrismcbride88 on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit
www.LionSports.net/tickets. Southeastern is implementing mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2020-21 season. All tickets will be available via e-mail in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
