JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn - The South Atlantic Conference has announced its preseason first and second team for women's soccer and Carson-Newman has had six student-athletes selected for the two lineups.
The Eagles have a league-high four players on the first-team in forward Julianne Herrity(Donegal, Ireland), midfielders Varin Ness(Sogndal, Norway) and Heida Ragney(Akureyri, Iceland) and defender Megan Peterson(Parrish, Fla.). Fullback Elissa Lane(Knoxville, Tenn.) and goalkeeper Jessica Fraiture(Hebron, Ky) were also honored with second-team selections.
Herrity's selection for the first-team is no surprise, as she was named SAC Player of the Year in 2015 following a campaign in which she placed second in the conference in goals with 16. Her four assists gave her a total of 36 points, which was good for second in the SAC as well. Her season also included four multi-goal games, two double overtime game-winners and a spot as a third-team NSCAA All-American.
Ness's 2015 season also made her a no-brainer for inclusion on the first-team, as she received the SAC's Freshman of the Year award. Ness finished fifth in the league in goals (12), assists (5) and points (29). Her 12 goals were also the most ever by a C-N freshman. Twice during 2015 she scored multiple goals in a game.
Ragney's 2016 picks up where last year left off, as she was also an SAC first-team honoree following last season. As a freshman, Ragney logged eight assists, which were the most in the conference. On 10/10 against Catawba, she picked up three assists, the first Eagles player to do so in 10 years. She was also named MVP of the SAC Tournament.
Peterson's 2015 saw her lead all C-N defenders in points, with eight, and goals, with three, to go with two assists. Both assists came in a 3-2 victory over Newberry on 9/19 and Peterson's goal against King on 10/21 proved to be the game-winner. She was a continuous, reliable presence on the back line for the Eagles.
Fellow fullback and senior Elissa Lane earned a second-team spot on the strength of a year in which she tied for second on the team with five assists. That total also tied her for fifth in the SAC. One of those assists was on C-N's game-winning goal against Newberry on 9/19 and two of them came in postseason play.
Fraiture's freshman season was one for the Carson-Newman record books, as her 19 wins and five straight shutouts were new all-time highs for the program. She also totaled 10 clean sheets overall, the best mark in the SAC and her 0.86 goals against average was third-best.
While the Eagles led the way with four first-team members, Queens and Wingate had three players on the squad and Tusculum earned two nods.
September 1st is when the Eagles open their season with a trip to Trevecca Nazarene for a 5pm contest.
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