Central Arkansas Nearly Sweeps Special Awards, All-Conference Teams Named
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FRISCO, Texas – Central Arkansas senior Camille Bassett became just the second repeat Southland Conference Soccer Player of the Year with the league’s announcement of the superlative award winners and all-conference first and second teams on Tuesday. The superlative awards are presented by Ready Nutrition.
The regular-season champion Bears claimed all but two of the conference’s superlative awards and tied Abilene Christian with the most all-conference picks at five. McNeese followed with four second-team selections, and defending champion Lamar garnered three all-league honors.
Also named Forward of the Year, Bassett led the league in goals (9), points (21) and points per game (1.75) on the third-most shots (40) in conference play. A three-time all-league selection, her 12 goals and 30 points in overall competition ranked among the top-50 in Division I.
Newcomer of the Year went to UCA’s Connie Awuku-Darkoh, Bassett’s partner in crime on offense. Awuku-Darkoh paced the Southland with 0.80 goals per game in league play and her 0.69 goals per game were the 27
th-most in the country.
For the third-straight year, an Abilene Christian rookie took home Freshman of the Year honors as defender Alyssia Anuat follows in the footsteps of Christina Arteaga and Shay Johnson. Anuat started all 18 matches on the back line for the Wildcats, who held opponents to a league-low four goals in league play.
Central Arkansas senior Kristen Ricks earned Defender of the Year laurels after anchoring a Bears defense that surrendered just one goal every two matches on average. She was a four-time Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week in her final season.
Juliana Ocampo was named the Midfielder of the Year and picked up her first all-conference nod. Tied for the second-most goals on the team (6), she found the back of the net three times and had a pair of assists against league opponents, ranking ninth with 0.89 points per game.
Central Arkansas head coach Jeremy Bishop was named the Coach of the Year after leading the Bears to a four-win improvement overall and three-win swing in Southland action. After dropping an early road contest to Lamar, UCA responded with a program-record nine-match win streak to claim its second conference title in three years.
Tuesday’s announcement saw seven repeat honorees with Bassett being the lone three-time selection. Houston Baptist’s Baylii Bieke and Sabriah Spencer, Lamar’s Kelso Peskin and Amelia Fullmer, Abilene Christian’s Christina Arteaga and McNeese’s Nola Prickett all earned their second all-league nod.
For participating teams, individual superlative winners and all-conference selections will be honored before their first games at the 2018 Southland Conference Soccer Tournament in Beaumont, Texas, taking place Oct. 31-Nov. 5.
Player of the Year: Camille Bassett, Central Arkansas^
Freshman of the Year: Alyssia Anuat, Abilene Christian
Newcomer of the Year: Connie Awuku-Darkoh, Central Arkansas
Defender of the Year: Kristen Ricks, Central Arkansas
Midfielder of the Year: Juliana Ocampo, Lamar
Forward of the Year: Camille Bassett, Central Arkansas
Goalkeeper of the Year: Lauren Mercuri, Central Arkansas
Coach of the Year: Jeremy Bishop, Central Arkansas
2018 Southland Conference Soccer All-Conference Teams
First Team
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| D |
Kristen Ricks |
Central Arkansas |
Sr. |
Keller, Texas |
| D |
Baylii Bieke2 |
Houston Baptist |
Sr. |
Little Elm, Texas |
| D |
Michelle Mulrooney |
Abilene Christian |
Jr. |
Lodi, Calif. |
| MF |
Juliana Ocampo |
Lamar |
Sr. |
Bogota, Colombia |
| MF |
Hadley Dickinson |
Central Arkansas |
So. |
Cabot, Ark. |
| MF |
Shay Johnson |
Abilene Christian |
Jr. |
Coppell, Texas |
| F |
Camille Bassett3 |
Central Arkansas |
Sr. |
Vista, Calif. |
| F |
Kelso Peskin2 |
Lamar |
Sr. |
Cape Town, South Africa |
| F |
Connie Awuku-Darkoh |
Central Arkansas |
Jr. |
Surrey, British Columbia |
| GK |
Lauren Mercuri |
Central Arkansas |
Sr. |
Gig Harbor, Wash. |
| F* |
Christina Arteaga2 |
Abilene Christian |
So. |
Pflugerville, Texas |
Second Team
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| D |
Sarah Clayton |
McNeese |
Sr. |
Rancho Mission Viejo, Calif. |
| D |
Amelia Fullmer2 |
Lamar |
Sr. |
Pleasant Grove, Utah |
| D |
Sofia Olsson |
Southeastern Louisiana |
Sr. |
Orust, Sweden |
| MF |
Nola Prickett2 |
McNeese |
Sr. |
Hemet, Calif. |
| MF |
Sophie Standifer |
Abilene Christian |
Sr. |
Southlake, Texas |
| MF |
Sophia Fondren |
Stephen F. Austin |
So. |
Frisco, Texas |
| F |
April Trowbridge |
Northwestern State |
Sr. |
Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| F |
Havana Johnson |
McNeese |
So. |
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho |
| F |
Sabriah Spencer2 |
Houston Baptist |
Sr. |
Brampton, Ontario |
| GK |
Rachel Johnson |
Abilene Christian |
R-Jr. |
Coppell, Texas |
| MF* |
Rachel Palet |
McNeese |
Jr. |
Plano, Texas |
^ – Two-time Player of the Year
* – At-large selection
2 – Two-time all-conference selection
3 – Three-time all-conference selection
Honorable Mention: Defenders: Marina Davidson, Texas A&M-CC; Claire Huston, Southeastern Louisiana; Brooke Lenz, Abilene Christian; Keely Morrow, McNeese; Kelsey Quick, Central Arkansas; Megan Rickert, Houston Baptist.
Midfielders: Sam Batley, Incarnate Word; Megan Gordon, Southeastern Louisiana; Morgan Middleton, McNeese; Aniki Sultan, Central Arkansas; Rubi Villegas, Lamar.
Forwards: Lucy Ashworth, Lamar; Francesca Curteis, Nicholls; Madison Ledet, Lamar; Dylan Owens, Abilene Christian.
Goalkeepers: Alanis Guevara, Houston Baptist; Sandra Nygard, Lamar; Emma Roccaforte, McNeese.
The Southland Conference Soccer All-Conference Teams are nominated and voted upon by the league’s head coaches and SIDs. Each team consists of three defenders, three midfielders, three forwards and a goalkeeper, plus an at-large selection which is given to the next highest vote recipient, regardless of position (not including goalkeepers). To receive honorable mention, a student-athlete must appear on 25 percent of ballots.