VIDEO: Lauren Wade Interview
VIDEO: Julianne Herrity Interview
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Carson-Newman junior midfielder Lauren Wade (Coleraine, Northern Ireland) was named the Southeast Region Player of the Year by the Division II Conference Commissioners Association on Wednesday.
Wade, who was also named South Atlantic Conference Player of the Year, is the first Eagle to earn the honor from the D2CCA. She was joined on the All-Southeast region first-team by Julianne Herrity (Donegal, Ireland), who was selected to the squad for the second straight season. On the second-team, a trio of C-N players made the roster, as Holly Talbut-Smith (Crawley, England), Varin Ness (Sogndal, Norway) and Averi Williams (Powell, Tenn.) garnered selections. This marked the second consecutive year on the second-team for Ness, while Talbut-Smith and Williams earned spots for the first time. This is the first time Carson-Newman has had two players on the All-Southeast region first-team and the total of five players on both teams is a program high.
"I think, all the girls, we just clicked," Wade said. "Playing with Julianne back home, we already had that chemistry. Everything just clicked and that went really well for us."
Wade's year saw her top the SAC with 20 goals and 51 points, totals that rank her seventh and sixth in the country, respectively. Her 11 assists also tie her for the most in the SAC and 11th in the NCAA. She is currently tied for the national lead in points per game with 3.00 and ranks third in Division II in goals per game at 1.18. Her year also included a five-goal performance against USC-Aiken on Sept. 12th , which stands as the second-most goals in a game in Division II this season. She also added two assists in that match, giving her 12 points, the second-highest total in a game in 2016. The Northern Ireland native scored multiple times in four games this season, including hat tricks against Tusculum and Coker. Wade's 51 points are the third-most in a season in program history and her 20 goals tie her for fifth.
Herrity had a second straight excellent season at Mossy Creek, putting up 18 goals and 43 points, both the SAC's second most, and seven assists. Her goals are the eighth most in Division II and her points put her in the 11th spot. The senior found the back of the net more than once in a game six times, including a hat trick against Francis Marion on Sept. 10th. She also tallied one of the two C-N goals against Wingate on Sept. 6th in the SAC title game, which the Eagles won 2-1 to capture their second consecutive conference championship. The native of Ireland finished her career with 79 points, tied for the fourth-most in Carson-Newman history, while her 34 goals rank her fifth.
"It's nice to get recognized," Herrity said, "but it's also great for the team. It wasn't just me. We've got other players who made it as well, which is nice."
Ness was credited with 11 assists in 2016, tying her with Wade for first in the SAC and 11th in the country. She was a first-team All-SAC selection for the second time in two years and completed the year with 15 points, the fourth most on the team. Her three assists against Lees-McRae on Sept. 3rd tied for the second-most in a game in C-N history and one of her two goals came against Lincoln Memorial on Oct. 25th and proved to be the game-winner.
The second season in the Carson-Newman career of Talbut-Smith proved to be an outstanding one, as her totals of eight goals, nine assists and 25 points all were good enough for third on the team. In the conference, she finished third in assists and fifth in points. She supplied the goal that proved to be the game-winner against Wingate in the SAC championship match, one of four game-winning goals the sophomore scored this season.
Williams played in 21 games and made 19 starts on the back line, scoring four times with three assists. One of those four goals was against Anderson (S.C.) in the SAC tournament semifinal. Against Newberry on Sept. 17th she racked up a season-high four points, scoring once and adding two assists. The sophomore was also part of a group of defenders that permitted an average of 0.63 goals per game, the second-fewest in the SAC.
The Eagles were the only SAC team to place any student-athletes on the first-team and the only player from the conference to make the second-team from the league was Wingate fullback Macy Franklin.
The Division II Conference Commissioners Association encourages and promotes Division II athletics and high standards of sportsmanship as important elements of higher education. The CCA is a key communications link among the conferences as they discuss views, policies and regulations that impact Division II intercollegiate athletics and works closely with the NCAA as a communications channel to NCAA Division II member colleges and universities.
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