SHAWNEE, Okla. – On the eve of the 2018 Great American Conference Women’s Soccer Championships, the league held its awards banquet. The regular-season champion Oklahoma Baptist’s Ruth King, Jen Goethe and head coach Mike White earned the Offensive Player, Defensive Player and Coach of the Year awards, respectively. Ouachita’s Ashlyn Heckman and Jaymee Dotson garnered the Newcomer and Freshman of the Year honors.
Led by the efforts of King and Goethe, the Lady Bison posted the first undefeated and untied GAC regular season in league history. King scored all 13 of her goals against GAC foes and she netted three game winners. Goethe, the two-time GAC Defensive Player of the Year, anchored a back line that allowed only six goals in GAC play and registered eight shutouts. White also repeated as Coach of the Year. The Lady Bison enters the GAC Championships ranked sixth in the Central Region.
Heckman claimed the inaugural Newcomer of the Year award. She led the Tigers with 17 points and tied for team high with six goals. Dotson became the first Tiger to take home the Freshman of the Year accolade. She totaled 11 points and her five assists ranked sixth in the conference.
Alongside King and Goethe, two addition Lady Bison landed on the All-GAC First Team with unanimous consent in midfielder Emmily Infante and goalkeeper Emily Griffith. Infante made the First-Team as a unanimous selection for the second-straight year while Griffith became a two-time First-Team All-GAC goalkeeper.
Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Alimata Rabo also made the All-GAC First Team as a unanimous pick to become a three-time First-Team performer. She leads the nation in points and ranks second in goals. She leads all active Division II players in goals and points.
Her fellow forward, Sandra Nabweteme, and Bulldog defender Erica Brunet also made the First Team. Nabweteme ranks fifth in the country in goals, second in assists and third in points. Brunet became a four-time All-GAC selection and a three-time First-Team All-GAC honoree.
Kerregan Edwards and Lara Haring-Lovett gave the Lady Bison a total of six First-Team All-GAC performers. Edwards ranked third on the team in scoring. Haring-Lovett made the All-GAC First Team for the second-straight year.
Tandems from Harding and Ouachita filled out the All-GAC First Team. The Lady Bisons’ Bethany Sutherland became the third four-time First-Team All-GAC selection in league history. She ranked fifth in the league with 10 goals and fourth with 26 points. Defender Sierra Phillips earned First-Team All-GAC honors for the second-straight year.
In addition to Dotson, Tiger defender Simone Norvell earned First-Team accolades. Led by Norvell, the Tigers ranked second in the league with seven shutouts, six in GAC play.
The All-GAC Second Team consisted of SWOSU’s Kylee Bertrand, Memory Phiri, Sarah Wilson and Steffi Silvera; Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Karla Lopez and Clarissa Hinojo, Ouachita’s Bryson Thomas and Erin Webster, Oklahoma Baptist’s Hannah White and Kelsey Bumgarner, Harding’s Emma Welch, East Central’s Alyssa Butler and Southern Nazarene’s Natalie James.
Heckman headlined the Honorable Mention squad. Three additional Tigers - Meagan North, Isabella Lowry and Carmen Scott – made the team along with Harding’s Melanie Matkins, Parker Smitherman and Yuri Richardson; SNU’s Kelsi Bussert, Rebecca Moore and Ashlynn Pritchett; SWOSU’s Ashlyn Collier and Lauren Tonkovich; Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Yazmin Gomez and Audrey Salas, Oklahoma Baptist’s Reagan Mann and ECU’s Alexis Castillo.
The league also announced its scholar-athlete awards. SWOSU’s Silvera earned the Elite Scholar Athlete award for the second-straight year. A total of 10 achieved Distinguished Scholar Athlete status in Harding’s Amelia Grizzell, Asia Hollingsworth, and Sutherland; Ouachita’s Shannon Stribling, Tori Stratton and Brittany Ratliff plus SWOSU’s Brunet, Bertrand, Kodi Holloway and Alexis Fowler.