MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Senior midfielder Ashley Lawrence was named Team MVP at the West Virginia University women’s soccer season-ending banquet, held Saturday, April 1, at Bartini Prime.
A Toronto native, Lawrence was a two-time Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Hermann Trophy semifinalist and paced the team in 2016 with 10 assists. The single-season career high total ranked No. 6 nationally and was the third-best season showing in program history. She finished the year ranked second on the team with 18 points (4 G, 10 A).
A team captain and four-time All-Big 12 honoree, Lawrence was named to the NSCAA All-America First Team in 2015 and 2016 and the 2016 Senior CLASS Award All-America Second Team. She leaves the program ranked No. 3 all-time with 29 career assists. She started 87 of 91 career matches and tallied 63 (17 G, 29 A) career points.
A starter for the Canadian Women’s National Team, Lawrence inked a two-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain in January.
Senior center back Kadeisha Buchanan was named the team’s defensive MVP for the fourth straight season. A native of Brampton, Ontario, Buchanan claimed the program’s first MAC Hermann Trophy in 2016. A four-time NSCAA All-American and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honoree, she also earned 2016 espnW and TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Year accolades, as well as the Honda Sport Award for soccer. A Senior CLASS Award All-America First Team honoree, she also was named the Defensive MVP of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.
A two-time team captain, Buchanan anchored a WVU defense that posted a nation- and program-best 18 shutouts in 2016 and allowed just 12 opponent goals. The Mountaineers did not allow a goal throughout the Big 12 Conference regular-season slate, becoming the first team in conference history to pitch a season shutout in league play. The defense held each Big 12 team but Texas to two shots or less on-goal.
Buchanan started 90-of-91 career matches, and the WVU backline allowed just 62 opponent goals and posted 55 shutouts throughout her four-year career. She tallied nine points (3 G, 3 A) in 2016, including an assist on the team’s game-winner in its 1-0 victory over Duke in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. Buchanan posted 25 (8 G, 9 A) career points in four seasons.
A starter for the Canadian Women’s National Team, Buchanan signed with Olympic Lyonnais in January.
Junior forward Michaela Abam was named the team’s offensive MVP. A 2016 NSCAA All-America Second Team honoree and the co-Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, she paced the Mountaineers this season in goals (12) and points (33) and finished second on the team in assists (9). All three totals were career single-season highs. The team’s leading goal scorer for the third straight season, she ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 Conference in goals and finished with the ninth-best total nationally. Five of her 12 scores were game-winners, the third-best total nationally. She also topped the conference rankings and ranked No. 24 nationally in points. Additionally, Abam’s nine helpers were the seventh-best single-season showing and program history and the third most for a Mountaineer junior.
A Houston native, Abam enters her senior season ranked No. 8 in program history with 32 career goals.
Sophomore center back Easther Mayi Kith was voted the team’s most improved player for the second straight season. Playing alongside Buchanan on the backline, the Quebec City, Quebec, native started all 27 matches and helped the defense post a program-record 18 shutouts. Additionally, she earned her first career point this season, assisting on Lawrence’s goal in the NCAA College Cup final on Dec. 4.
Sophomore forward Grace Cutler was selected for the Mountaineer S.O.C.C.E.R award. The award is given by the coaching staff to the student-athlete who displays good sportsmanship, optimism, character, concern, effort and respect. A native of Fort Collins, Colorado, Cutler made an impact in her first season with the Mountaineers, playing off the bench in all 27 matches and finishing seventh on the team with nine points (4 G, 1 A).
All other team awards were voted on by the student-athletes.
Saturday’s banquet was a celebration honoring the 2016 team’s run to the NCAA College Cup and National Runner-Up finish, as well as the careers of seniors Lawrence, Buchanan, Carly Black and Ashley Woolpert. In addition to their College Cup run, the Mountaineers captured their fifth straight Big 12 Conference regular-season title and third conference championship title in five seasons. Ranked No. 1 nationally for the first time in the program’s 21 years, WVU spent 13 weeks ranked in the top five of the NSCAA and TopDrawerSoccer.com Poll. The Mountaineers posted a program-record 23 wins and finished with a 23-2-2 overall mark.
