Jan. 3, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The awards and accolades keep piling up for the players on the 2007 Nittany Lion women's soccer team with the latest honors coming from Soccer Buzz Magazine. Outstanding goalkeeper and sophomore Alyssa Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) was named to Soccer Buzz's 2007 All-America first team while sophomore Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) was awarded second team honors.
Naeher, Schoepfer, and junior Zoe Bouchelle (Cockeysville, Md.) were all named to 2007 first team All-Mid-Atlantic Region with senior Aubrey Aden-Buie (Allentown, Pa.) and junior Sheree Gray (Toms River, N.J.) garnering second team honors. Senior Denay Riley (Washingtonville, N.Y.) was named third team Mid-Atlantic Region.
Naeher has established herself among the nation's top goalkeepers after being named to Soccer Buzz's 2006 Mid-Atlantic All-Freshmen team. A first team NSCAA All-American, Naeher has already earned a second team MVP nod from Soccer America, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, first team NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region, and first team All-Big Ten honors earlier this season. For the year, Naeher tallyed 103 saves and finished the season 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).
Previously, second team NSCAA All-American Schoepfer has been awarded first team all-conference honors and first team NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region. Schoepfer 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, down the Big Ten stretch vs. Indiana, and in the Big Ten finale at Ohio State to clinch the Nittany Lions 10th consecutive conference title. Schoepfer also assisted on the game-winning goal vs. Northwestern.
Bouchelle was a key component for the Nittany Lions in the midfield and played solidly all fall for the PennState, 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 MichiganState 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 was an NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region selection. She also received second team Academic All-America honors this fall after maintaining a 3.87 grade point average as an economics major.
Aden-Buie finished 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, was named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region second team, 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 2006 NSCAA All-American, Gray previously earned NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region second team honors. The speedy midfielder added five assists this year to a PennState team that went 18-4-2 en route to its 10th consecutive Big Ten title. Two of her assists came in Big Ten play. Gray was one of two preseason M.A.C. Hermann Trophy candidates for the Nittany Lions.
Riley was part of a defense that allowed only 0.61 goals per game, which was 13th nationally, and was on the preseason M.A.C. Hermann Trophy list before her final go-around with the blue and white. Earlier this season, Riley was a second team All-Big Ten Selection and was named to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region first team. The New York native and the PSU defense allowed only 0.39 goals per game in conference play. Overall, PennState shut out 11 of its opponents in 2007.
The women's soccer team finished 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.
--NITTANY LIONS--