Four Kats named among Southland's best
11/3/2015 12:52:00 PM | Soccer
Sam Houston State soccer's Caitlin Schwartz and Mariah Titus have been named to the 2015 First-Team All-Southland Conference squad while Allie Johnson and Shelby McDaniel earned honorable mentions, the league office announced Tuesday.
The quartet played an integral role in the team securing the No. 3 seed at the conference tournament, which begins Thursday in Conway, Ark. Sam Houston will play No. 6 seeded Central Arkansas at 7 p.m.
“I think Mariah has been our best player all year long,” eighth-year head coach Tom Brown said. “She's done very well in every game during conference and it's good to see the coaches and SIDs recognize that. Overall, she may be the most dynamic player. She doesn't always get in on all the goals or assists but she is doing work box to box and end to end.”
Schwartz, a sophomore from San Antonio, helped anchor a defensive unit that ranked second in the conference with 0.98 goals allowed per contest and finished third in the regular season with six shutouts. In the squad's last two matches, the Bearkats picked up a pair of wins while holding Stephen F. Austin and Incarnate Word to a combined five shots on goal.
“Caitlin has embraced the role of being a central defender,” Brown said. “We converted her a year ago to that role and she has been very dominant in the back there. She is a player teams have to watch out for when we have set pieces and those sort of things.”
Titus earned her second first-team selection after leading the team in assists (4) and ranking second in goals (5). The senior midfielder from Bedford also tied for the team lead with two game-winning goals and assisted in the winning goal against SFA on Friday, the squad's first win against its rival since 2010.
Johnson earned honorable mention after leading the Bearkats in goals scored (6) and finishing second in total points (13).
“A.J. has continued to get stronger,” Brown said. “She has put goals in here over the last couple weeks and really kind of renewed our energy levels up top.”
Meanwhile, McDaniel played in all 18 matches, notching one goal and ranking third with 28 shots.
“Shelby has been getting stronger and stronger each game,” Brown said. “This last week, she was fantastic. She was easily the best player on the field against Stephen F. Austin. She created a ton of opportunities and caused some issues for them.”
The 2015 Southland Soccer All-Conference teams are comprised of 11 first-team members and 11 second-team members and are chosen by vote of the league's head coaches and sports information directors. The recipients are grouped by position and are placed by the number of votes received.
2015 All-Southland Conference Soccer Team
First Team
|
Name |
School |
Position |
Class |
Hometown/High School |
|
Spencer Valdespino3 |
Nicholls |
Forward |
Sr. |
Spring Hill, Fla./Bishop McLaughlin |
|
Jordan Mulnix |
Lamar |
Forward |
Fr. |
Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound |
|
Sabriah Spencer |
Houston Baptist |
Forward |
Fr. |
Brampton, Ontario, Canada/St. Edmund Campion |
|
Brooke Dunnigan2 |
Stephen F. Austin |
Defender |
Jr. |
Round Rock, Texas/Vista Ridge |
|
Blake Martin |
Houston Baptist |
Defender |
Sr. |
College Station, Texas/A&M Consolidated |
|
Sam Houston State |
Defender |
So. |
San Antonio, Texas/Johnson |
|
|
Gisenia Utreras |
Southeastern La. |
Midfielder |
Sr. |
Brampton, Ontario, Canada/St. Marguerite |
|
Amanda Doyle2 |
Stephen F. Austin |
Midfielder |
Jr. |
Carrollton, Texas/Hebron |
|
Sam Houston State |
Midfielder |
Sr. |
Bedford, Texas/Bell |
|
|
Hope Sabadash2 |
Southeastern La. |
Goalkeeper |
Jr. |
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada/Our Lady of Mt. Carmel |
|
Camille Bassett1 |
Central Arkansas |
At-Large |
Fr. |
Vista, Calif./Rancho Buena Vista |
Second Team
|
Name |
School |
Position |
Class |
Hometown/High School |
|
Hanna Barker |
Stephen F. Austin |
Forward |
So. |
Farmers Brach, Texas/R. L. Turner |
|
Esdeina Gonzalez |
Northwestern State |
Forward |
So. |
Humble, Texas/Kingwood |
|
Dylan Owens |
Abilene Christian |
Forward |
Fr. |
Willard, Mo./Willard |
|
Chantal Curry |
Stephen F. Austin |
Defender |
Sr. |
Austin, Texas/McNeil |
|
Maddie Allen |
Southeastern La. |
Defender |
Sr. |
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada/Colonel By |
|
Kelsie Roberts |
Abilene Christian |
Defender |
Jr. |
Lucas, Texas/Lovejoy |
|
Gabi D'Alesandro |
McNeese State |
Midfielder |
So. |
Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound |
|
Rachel Owens |
Stephen F. Austin |
Midfielder |
Sr. |
Houston, Texas/Memorial |
|
Cassandra Briscoe |
Northwestern State |
Midfielder |
Sr. |
Caledon East, Ontario, Canada/Robert F. Hall |
|
Lillie Ehlert |
Stephen F. Austin |
Goalkeeper |
So. |
Pflugerville, Texas/Pflugerville |
|
Elizabeth Adams1 |
Houston Baptist |
At-Large |
Jr. |
Tulsa, Okla./Jenks |
1At-large selection
2Two-time first-team selection
3Three-time first-team selection
Honorable mention: Christina Cutura, SLU; Maddie Kresevic, SLU; Stacia Carroll, UCA; Chantal Kinsey, ACU; Cheyenne Maxwell, SLU; Kelly Ann Craig, SFA; Kristi O'Brien HBU; Patry Carrion, NWST; Alexus Aviles, LU; Mari Olastuen, LU; Allie Johnson, SHSU; Ellee Hall, HBU; Bri Singh, SLU; Sophie Standifer, ACU; Maria Gomez, ACU; Bettina Brulhart, MCN; Allie Coleman, UCA; Shelby Wilson, UCA; Shelby McDaniel, SHSU; Rebekah Tovar, HBU; Ana Zadro, SLU; Madison Hall, SFA; Sofia Olsson, SLU; Hannah Savoie, NICH;
Player of the Year – Amanda Doyle, Stephen F. Austin
Freshman of the Year – Camille Bassett, Central Arkansas
Newcomer of the Year – Bettina Brulhart, McNeese State
Coach of the Year – Wally Crittenden, Stephen F. Austin
