Wade earns SAC Player of the Year, ten Eagles named all-conference

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Posted: Nov 02, 2016

ROCK HILL, S.C. – After a regular season in which she led the SAC in goals and points and tied for second in assists, Lauren Wade (Coleraine, Northern Ireland) has been named the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year. Wade is also one of a Carson-Newman record ten players to be chosen for the league's all-conference teams.

"I was quite shocked when I first heard the news," Wade said. "I'm overwhelmed at being named the South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and I'm excited."

This marks the second straight season and the fifth time overall a Carson-Newman student-athlete has earned SAC Player of Year. In 2015, Julianne Herrity (Donegal, Ireland) garnered the honor after a 14 goal, two assist campaign.

Both Wade and Herrity were selected for the SAC first-team, along with midfielder Varin Ness (Sogndal, Norway). For Ness and Herrity, it's their second consecutive year on the conference's first-team. Forward Holly Talbut-Smith (Crawley, England), midfielder Chelsea Jordan (Knoxville, Tenn.), defender Helen Seed (Preston, England) and goalkeeper Jacqueline Burns (Cookstown, Northern Ireland) earned spots on the second team. Midfielder Heida Ragney (Akureyri, Iceland) and defenders Averi Williams (Powell, Tenn.) and Elissa Lane (Knoxville, Tenn.) were picked for All-SAC Honorable Mention.

"It's great to get recognized after we put in the work all season," Herrity said, "not just for me, but for the whole team. There are so many of us that [were recognized] this year, so it's great."

The Eagles total of ten players selected for all-conference honors bests their previous high of seven that they set in 2009.

Wade leads the SAC with 19 goals and 45 points and her nine assists, one of which she picked up in Tuesday's SAC quarterfinal win over Catawba, are tied for the most with Talbut-Smith. Nationally, she has the country's sixth most goals and sixth most points. Wade would be leading the nation in points per game with a mark of 3.67, but she doesn't qualify because she hasn't played in 75% of her team's matches. Four times this season, Wade scored multiple goals in a game, including a pair of hat tricks and a five goal performance against USC Aiken on Sept. 12^th, which is tied for the second-most goals in a game in Division II this season.

Herrity picked up her second consecutive first-team nod with another outstanding season. Her totals of 16 goals and 38 points where only surpassed in the SAC by Wade and she also led the conference with 100 shots. The senior is tied for ninth in the country in goals, tied for ninth in points and is also tied for eighth in points per game. She's also collected a brace five times this season to go with one hat trick against Francis Marion on Sept. 10^th.

For Ness, who was named SAC Freshman of the Year in 2015, she also earned a first-team selection for the second straight season. This year, she put herself among the league's best distributors, with eight assists, including three in a game against Lees-McRae on Sept. 3^rd, which ties her for the second-most in a game in program history. She also has scored twice and one of those goals came on Oct. 25^th against LMU and proved to be the game-winner in a 1-0 C-N victory.

"It's great," Ness said, "but this is because of the team. We have a great team and they make me good and we are good together. I'm thankful, but its all [thanks to] the team."

Talbut-Smith's second season at Mossy Creek has been an outstanding one, as she's tied for the SAC lead with nine assists, which are also tied for the 14^th most in the country. The native of Crawley, England is also third on the team with seven goals. Between those two totals, she's tied for sixth in the conference with 23 points.

For Jordan and Burns, they made their first appearances on the all-conference roster, while Seed earned a spot for the second time in three years. A Jordan has tallied two goals and four assists, one of which was a game-winner. Seed has a goal and an assist to her credit, with her score coming on Oct. 8^th in her team's 6-0 victory over Catawba.

Burns has put together a season in which she's attempting to rewrite the program record book. She already has the program record for shutouts in a season with 12, a total that also ties the SAC record, and her current goals-against average of 0.52 would be the best in C-N history if she maintains it. She also has a save percentage of .836 which would place her third all-time.

For Ragney and Lane this marks their second straight season being recognized, while this is a first for Williams. All three players have contributed to a C-N defense that has allowed the fewest goals and the fewest shots on goal in the SAC. Williams is also fifth on the team with three scores and sixth with nine points. Ragney has a pair of assists to go with a goal this year and Lane has one assist as well.

Lenoir-Rhyne's Abigael McGarel claimed the Freshman of the Year award after scoring five goals and adding two assists. The Bears' coach, Gary Higgins, was selected as Coach of the Year following a season in which he led his team to the No. 1 seed in the SAC Tournament.

Carson-Newman's total of three players on the first-team ties them with Tusculum for the most in the league. Lenoir-Rhyne, Wingate and Queens earned a pair of selections while Newberry and Anderson each landed one. Between the three squads, Tusculum picked up the second most selections behind C-N's 10 with six and Queens and Lenoir-Rhyne tied for the third most with five.

First Team All-Conference

F – Lauren Wade, Carson-Newman

F – Julianne Herrity, Carson-Newman

F – Kendall Smith, Lenoir-Rhyne

F – Alyssa Ortega, Newberry (Tie)

F – Tina Shakes, Anderson (Tie)

MF – Kaitlyn Brunworth, Wingate

MF – Varin Ness, Carson-Newman

MF – Kathy Fisher, Queens

MF – Katja Andersson, Tusculum

D – Olivia Kilgore, Tusculum

D – Macy Franklin, Wingate