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Five Earn NSCAA All-Region Honors
November 30, 2016 10:15 AM | Women's Soccer
SAN JOSE, Calif. – Five student-athletes from the No. 1-ranked West Virginia University women’s soccer team earned All-Central Region honors by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
Seniors Kadeisha Buchanan and Ashley Lawrence, as well as junior Michaela Abam, were named to the first team. Junior Carla Portillo and freshman Rylee Foster were named to the second team.
Buchanan and Lawrence were named semifinalists for the 2016 Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy Award on Tuesday.
The five honors match a program single-season high, first achieved in 2007 and 2015. The three first team honors also are a program best and were previously achieved in 2015, 2013 and 2007.
Buchanan, Lawrence and Abam are now eligible for NSCAA All-America honors. Buchanan has earned three All-America honors, collecting first-team accolades in 2014 and 2015. Lawrence was named to the first team in 2015.
A defender and native of Brampton, Ontario, Buchanan, the four-time reigning Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, has helped the Mountaineer back line record a program-record 17 shutouts. The unit has allowed just nine goals in 25 matches. A two-time team captain, she shows nine points (3 G, 3 A) this season, including an assist in the team’s 1-0 win over No. 5-ranked Duke in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals on Nov. 26.
A midfielder and Toronto native, Lawrence paces the team with 10 assists, a single-season best and the third-best season showing in program history. She ranks fourth on the team with 16 points (3 G, 10 A). A team captain and four-time All-Big 12 First Team honoree, Lawrence shows 29 career helpers and needs four more to match the program record of 33, set by current associate head coach Lisa Stoia (2000-03).
Abam, a forward and Houston native, is the 2016 co-Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. She paces the team and ranks No. 31 nationally with 31 points (11 G, 9 A). The 11 goals, also a team high, are the 10th-most scored by an individual this season. The nine assists are a single-season high and rank second on the team. Abam, a two-time All-Big 12 First Team honoree, sits at No. 8 in the WVU record book with 31 career goals.
A midfielder and native of Mississauga, Ontario, Portillo earned her first career All-Big 12 First Team award this season. She ranks second on the team with 17 points on five goals and seven assists; all three marks are single-season bests.
A native of Cambridge, Ontario, Foster ranks No. 1 nationally with a 0.27 goals-against average (GAA). The mark also is a WVU season record. Named to the All-Big 12 Second and Freshman Teams, Foster has started 15 matches in net and allowed just four goals while making 34 saves. She has earned credit for seven of the squad’s shutouts and shows a 13-1-1 mark between the posts.
The top-seeded Mountaineers (22-1-2, 8-0) landed in San Jose, California, Tuesday night, to begin preparation for the 2016 NCAA College Cup. Making the program’s first appearance, WVU will face No. 2-seed North Carolina on Friday, Dec. 2, at 5 p.m. ET, at Avaya Field. The match will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
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