Sophomore Aspen Robinson has been named the Sooner Athletic Conference's Player of the Year while head coach Kathleen Paulsen was tabbed by her peers as Coach of the Year as the John Brown University women's soccer team raked in the year-end honors with six first-team selections and two second-team selections, the conference office announced Monday.
Robinson, following up last year's second-team selection, led all SAC strikers in goals (10), assists (6), points (26) and shots per game (5.7) in conference play. She also posted a pair of game-winners against Bacone (Okla.) and Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas). The striker's biggest performance of the season came in a three-goal, two-assist (8 points) outbreak in JBU's 15-0 win at Bacone on Oct. 1.
Joining Robinson on the first-team list was sophomore Jastin Redman, senior Sara Lachance, junior Sara Frey, junior Samantha Weber and senior Kristen Morency.
Redman, last season's SAC Freshman of the Year and first-teamer, finished second among SAC scorers with nine goals and five assists (23 points), scoring in every conference match, save two. The sophomore recorded three game-winners over SAC teams, including a narrow 1-0 win at Mid-America Christian (Okla.) on Sept. 28.
Redman was also named the conference's Offensive Player of the Year for her efforts, the second in program history.
Lachance made it three first-team nominations in four seasons after finishing the regular season in strong fashion, notching three goals and seven points in her last three matches. With her fourth nomination to one of the two All-Conference teams, Lachance becomes just the sixth player in program history to record three first-team selections in four seasons.
Frey helped patrol the midfield and often jump-started the Golden Eagle offense to the tune of one goal and two assists in conference play. One assist came as a primary helper to Lachance's game-winning goal in JBU's 5-0 win at Wayland Baptist (Texas) on Oct. 22.
Weber not only made her second-straight first-team ballot, she was also named the SAC Defensive Player of the Year, the first time in program history a Golden Eagle has secured the award. Weber helped anchor a Golden Eagle back line that allowed the fewest goals in conference play (3) and the fewest shots against (17), fueling an impressive .330 goals-against average, easily tops in the league.
Morency, easily the most prolific keeper in program history, finishes her career a perfect 4-for-4 in first-team nominations, marking just the second time in program history the feat has been accomplished, and the first time since Camille Malkiewicz in 2010.
Beyond the quartet of first-team honors, Morency also finished off a perfect 4-for-4 in Goalkeeper of the Year honors, which she easily obtained this year by leading all keepers with a .280 goals-against average in conference play while posting a league-best .867 save percentage. Overall, Morency is 11th in the nation with a .490 goals-against mark and is tied for fourth nationwide with nine clean sheets.
Also landing second-team accolades were freshman Kristen Howell and sophomore Annika Bos.
Howell made an immediate impact after redshirting in 2015 by pouring in nine goals and two assists (20 points) in conference play. She made a name for herself nationally after a program-record two-match spurt where she poured in seven goals in wins over Oklahoma City and St. Gregory's (Okla.), prompting the program's first ever NAIA National Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Also for her efforts, Howell was named the SAC's Freshman of the Year, marking two selections in two years for John Brown as Redman earned the honors last season.
Bos assisted Weber and Morency in posting the staunchest SAC defensive back line. The honor was the first career selection for Bos.
In her fourth season at the helm of the program, Paulsen guided the Golden Eagles to its most successful regular season in program history with a 15-1-1 mark (.882) and the program's second-ever perfect run through the SAC gauntlet, the first since 2007. Since Paulsen took over the reins, JBU has posted an overall mark of 54-16-9 (.684) and have captured the 2013 SAC tournament title and the 2016 regular season championship.
Paulsen becomes the second coach in program history to earn Coach of the Year honors. Joe Thoma earned the end of the year accolades in both 2005 and 2009.
Sports on 11/09/2016