WEATHERFORD, Okla. – On the eve of the 2019 Great American Conference Women’s Soccer Championships, the league held its awards banquet. Three representatives from the regular-season champion Southwestern Oklahoma State – Sandra Nabweteme, Brenna McGuirk and Mark Persson – claimed the Offensive Player, Freshman and Coach of the Year awards, respectively. Ouachita’s Carmen Scott received the Defensive Player of the Year honor and Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Reyna Gonzalez captured the Newcomer of the Year accolade.
Nabweteme and McGuirk led the Bulldog offense as they ranked first and second in the conference n points. Nabweteme, who earned the Offensive Player of the Year award by unanimous consent, set the GAC career records for goals, 76, and points, 187, as she added 20 goals and seven assists to her totals. McGuirk netted nine goals to go along with five assists. Persson led SWOSU to their fourth regular-season title and he picked up his third Coach of the Year award.
2019 GAC Women's Soccer Awards | Awards Banquet Photo Gallery
Scott, a three-time GAC Defensive Player of the Week, anchored a Tiger defense that produced a 1.15 goals-against average, their best mark since 2013. She became the second Tiger named league’s Defensive Player of the Year matching the feat accomplished by Tessa Woodcock in 2016.
Gonzalez joined former Northwestern Oklahoma State goalkeeper Briana Legaspi as the only Rangers to garner a GAC individual award. Legaspi won Goalkeeper of the Year in 2014. Gonzalez ranked second in the GAC with 5.78 saves per game. The Rangers won seven games, a four-win increase from 2018 and the most for the program since winning eight in 2014.
Nabweteme and Scott both made the All-GAC First Team as unanimous selections. Ouachita midfielder Jaymee Dotson also landed on the First Team with unanimous support. She totaled seven goals and three assists to register 17 points.
The additional Bulldogs, all freshmen, joined Nabweteme on the First Team in midfielder Claire Torry, defender Elizabeth Moreno and goalkeeper Kirstyn Dill. Torry scored six points including two game-winning goals. Moreno and Dill paced a Bulldog defense that led the conference with a 0.96 goals-against average and recorded six shutouts. Dill led GAC goalkeepers with six shutouts and ranked second with an .822 save percentage.
Oklahoma Baptist matched SWOSU with four First-Team All-GAC honorees. Forward Ruth King became a four-time First-Team selection after she ranked third with eight goals and fourth with 22 points. Defender Lara Haring-Lovett made the First Team for the third straight year and fellow defender Kelsey Bumgarner earned All-GAC honors for the third time of her career. Midfielder Hannah White claimed a First-Team spot and landing on the Second Team in both 2017 and 2018.
Ouachita forward Ashlyn Heckman gave the Tigers three on the First Team for the first time since 2015. She finished the regular season tied for third with nine goals and 22 points. East Central defender Alyssa Butler and Harding midfielder Emma Welch filled out the All-GAC First Team. Butler became a four-time All-GAC and two-time All-GAC First-Team performer. Welch placed on the First Team for the second straight year. Her five assists ranked fourth in the GAC.
McGuirk headlined the All-GAC Second Team. Two of her teammates, Brianna Benitez and Kylee Martin also made the Second Team. Harding and Ouachita also produced three Second-Team selections. Forward Melanie Spurgeon plus defenders Michelle Morgan Samantha Rupe represented the Lady Bisons. Gracen Turner, Erica Gaddie and Erin Webster landed on the team for the Tigers. Northwestern Oklahoma State’s Makayla Barrientos and Yazmin Gomez, Oklahoma Baptist’s Reagan Mann and Maddison Williams and East Central’s Alexis Castillo rounded out the team.
The All-GAC Honorable Mention list consisted of Northwestern’s Gonzalez and Kaley Whitworth, Oklahoma Baptist’s Hannah Evans, Emily Griffith and Tori Kitchel; Harding’s Nicole Morgan, Parker Smitherman and Jessica Woessner, SWOSU’s Hannah Dahl and Micaela Swain, East Central’s Allie Verner, Ouachita’s Josilyn Kispert and Southern Nazarene’s Linda Nigg.
The league also announced its scholar-athlete awards. The GAC recognized Ouachita’s Erica Gaddie as its Elite Scholar-Athlete. Harding’s Amelia Lewis and Michelle Morgan plus Southwestern Oklahoma State’s Alexis Fowler and Nebweteme received the Distinguished Scholar Athlete award.