MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Five from the West Virginia University women’s soccer team earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Region honors, as announced by the organization today.

 

Senior Kailey Utley (forward) and juniors Kadeisha Buchanan (defender) and Ashley Lawrence (midfielder) were named to the All-Central Region First Team. Senior Amanda Hill (midfielder) was named to the second team and classmate Hannah Steadman (goalkeeper) was named to the third team.

 

The five honors match a program single-season high, first achieved in 2007. The three first team honors also are a program best and were previously achieved in 2013 and 2007.

 

The Mountaineers have earned 24 NSCAA All-Region First Team honors under 20-year coach Nikki Izzo-Brown. Today’s honors are the third straight recognitions for Buchanan and Lawrence, the first Mountaineers to collect three career first-team awards. Today’s honors are the first career recognitions for the three Mountaineer seniors.

 

Utley, Buchanan and Lawrence are now candidates for NSCAA All-America honors. The teams are expected to be announced Dec. 4. Buchanan was named to the first team in 2014 and the second team in 2013.

 

Buchanan and Lawrence’s regional honors follow their selections to the MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist list on Dec. 1.

 

Buchanan anchored a Mountaineer back line that recorded 15 shutouts this season, a program record, and allowed a program-low 11 opponent goals. The three-time reigning Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year and an All-Big 12 First Team honoree, Buchanan and the back line also put together a program-record nine-match shutout streak this season (Aug. 28 – Sept. 25). One of three team captains, the Brampton, Ontario, native also tallied five points (1 G, 3 A) and scored the game-winning goal at No. 15 Ohio State on Sept. 11.

 

A native of Toronto, Ontario, Lawrence is a two-time NSCAA All-Central Region First Team and a three-time All-Big 12 First Team honoree. She finished 2015 ranked No. 3 on the team, No. 5 in the Big 12 Conference, with 18 points (5 G, 8 A), a career single-season high. Lawrence paced the Mountaineers with eight assists, the second-best Big 12 total, and she now ranks No. 11 in the WVU record book with 19 career assists. Additionally, her five goals were the third-best team total, and she helped the Mountaineers tally a program single-season best 61 goals.

 

Utley, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, paced the Mountaineers with a career-best 30 points (12 G, 6 A). One of three team captains, her team-best goal total, as well as her assist mark, also were career single-season highs. The 30 points and 12 goals are the 10th-best single-season totals in program history. An All-Big 12 First Team performer, she ranks No. 4 on the WVU senior goals list and No. 5 on the senior points list. Additionally, seven of Utley’s goals were game-winners, the top total in the Big 12 Conference and the fourth-best total nationally.

 

Hill, a native of Washington, Pennsylvania, was named to the Senior CLASS Award All-America Second Team earlier today. A two-time All-Big 12 Second Team honoree, she tallied a career-high 13 points (5 G, 3 A) this season, including three game-winning goals. All three totals are career single-season bests. A two-time team captain, she started all 88 career matches at defensive center midfield, the third-best starts total in program history.

 

A native of Kinnelon, New Jersey, Steadman was credited with 12 of the team’s record-setting 15 shutouts this season, the second-best season total in program history. She ranks No. 8 nationally, No. 1 in the Big 12, in goals-against average (.501). She owns the WVU career goals-against average (0.59) and ranks No. 5 in career shutouts (23).

 

The No. 4-ranked Mountaineers’ historic 2015 season came to an end with a 2-0 loss at No. 6-ranked Penn State in the NCAA Elite Eight on Nov. 28. WVU posted a 19-3-1 record, and the 19 victories are a program single-season record. In addition to the shutout record, the four-time reigning Big 12 Conference regular-season champions also scored a program-best 61 goals.