Dec. 14, 2007
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 10-time reigning Big Ten champions have another reason to celebrate as today six Nittany Lion women soccer players were named NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region. Penn State's six all-region picks were the most of any school in the Great Lakes region, and its four first-team selections were also the highest of any squad. Junior Zoe Bouchelle (Cockeysville, Md.), sophomore Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.), senior Denay Riley (Washingtonville, N.Y.), and sophomore Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) all received first team nods, while senior Aubrey Aden-Buie (Allentown, Pa.) and junior Sheree Gray (Toms River, N.J.) were named to the second team.
Bouchelle was a key component for the Nittany Lions in the midfield and had her best season to date after avoiding injury for the first time in her college career. Bouchelle played solidly all fall for the Nittany Lions, but really came alive during the Big Ten slate. All of Bouchelle's points came in the conference season, including a six-point weekend vs. Michigan and Michigan State that grabbed her national honors from Soccer America and Soccer Buzz in addition to Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week accolades. Bouchelle was a first team All-Big Ten selection this year and is receiving her first all-region accolade. She also received second team Academic All-America honors this fall after maintaining a 3.87 grade point average as an economics major.
One of the nation's elite goalkeepers, Naeher was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year after tallying 103 saves and finishing the year with a 0.62 goals against average (best ever by a PSU sophomore goalkeeper), including a microscopic 0.39 goals against average in conference. Naeher ranked 12th nationally in save percentage (0.873) and was 18th in goals against average (0.62). A two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, she also earned Soccer America Team of the Week this year and was an academic All-District selection by ESPN the Magazine. Naeher was honored as a first team All-Big Ten pick, marking her second all-conference award after being named to the league's second team last year. The regional honor is Naeher's first.
A defender and two-time second team All-Big Ten selection, Riley's first team nod was the second All-Region honor of her career, but the first on the top team after receiving second team kudos last year. Part of a defense that allowed only 0.61 goals per game, which was 13th nationally, Riley was on the preseason M.A.C. Hermann Trophy list before her final go-around with the blue and white. The New York native and the PSU defense allowed only 0.39 goals per game in conference play. Overall, Penn State shut out 11 of its opponents in 2007.
First team All-Great Lakes Region selection Schoepfer led the Nittany Lions' offense with 15 goals and five assists for 35 points on the year. The first team all-conference honoree netted seven of her goals during Big Ten play and had seven game-winning goals in the 2007 campaign, including three in conference action. Schoepfer was 35th nationally in goals per game, scoring 0.625 a match, and was tops in the Big Ten in points per game (1.46) and goals per game (0.62). She had the game-winning or game-tying goals vs. then-No. 4 Texas A&M, and down the Big Ten stretch vs. Indiana and Ohio State. Schoepfer also assisted on the game-winning goal vs. Northwestern. Her all-region selection was the first of her young career.
Second team All-Great Lakes Region pick Aden-Buie improved on her third-team nod from last year after finishing as the Nittany Lions' second-leading scorer this season. For the year she posted 12 goals and added two assists. Aden-Buie was fourth in the Big Ten in goals per game (0.52) and was also among the top 10 in points per game (1.13). A tri-captain, she was selected second team all-conference this season and also earned her second straight Academic All-America honor, landing on the second team after carrying a 3.75 GPA while majoring in English and psychology. Aden-Buie proved herself a pressure player on more then one account as four of her five game-winning goals came either vs. ranked teams (including the game-winner vs. then-No. 4 Purdue) or in one-goal wins.
A third-team All-American last year, midfielder Gray earned her second straight all-region honor, this time a second team nod. The speedy midfielder added five assists this year to a Penn State team that went 18-4-2 en route to its 10th consecutive Big Ten title. Two of her assists came in Big Ten play. Along with Aden-Buie, Gray was a repeat selection this year for the Nittany Lions.
NSCAA All-Americans will be announced in the coming weeks.
Penn State finished ranked 12th in the final NSCAA poll released at the beginning of the week after another outstanding campaign. Making their 13th-straight NCAA appearance, the No. 1 seeded Nittany Lions went all the way to the third round of the Tournament.