November 01, 2012

Atlanta, GA-The Great South Athletic Conference announced their women’s soccer postseason award winners on Thursday morning and 8 Salem soccer student-athletes earned honors. Salem’s Tarryn Bundy (West Deptford, NJ) claimed the prestigious Freshman of the Year distinction while her head coach, Jay Callahan, earned the Coach of the Year nod after guiding the Spirits to the league’s top seed heading into this weekend’s conference tournament. This is the first time a Salem Coach has received this honor from the Great South. Clara Kienzle from Agnes Scott won the Player of the Year, but she was followed closely by Sawyer Ferguson (Billings, MT) and Stephanie Hubbard (Sanford, NC) who came in 2nd and 3rd in Player of the Year voting.

Bundy, a first-year forward of West Deptford, N.J., scored 9 goals and dished five assists for 23 points to help lift Salem to their first regular season GSAC crown. Her four game-winning strikes lifted the Spirits to a stellar 15-3 overall mark and the number one seed in the conference tournament which kicks off on Friday. She was also placed on the all-conference team.

Salem's strong play paved the way for Callahan to garner the league’s highest coaching honor. The 15-3 overall record marks Callahan’s fourth consecutive season of posting at least 10-wins and propelled him to a career record of 76-42-3. He hopes to guide the Spirits to a conference title this weekend and a chance to claim a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Ferguson, a red-shirt first-year, led the conference in goals with 18, points with 42, and is currently second in the country in game-winning goals with 9. Hubbard, a junior, anchored an outstanding defense for the Spirits that allowed only 0.76 goals per game. She also scored 6 goals and had 2 assists and this is the third year in a row Hubbard has been an All-Conference performer.

Rachel Avsec, (Chesapeake, VA) was placed on both the All-Conference and All-Freshmen teams. The defender played the second most minutes for the Spirits as a first-year. MacKenzie Schmidt (Columbus, OH) earned All-Conference honors for the second year in a row. She leads the conference with 9 assists.

Taylor Norman (Springfield, VA) and Nataly Mojica (Dallas, TX), both starting center midfielders, earned All-Conference honors after being on the All-Freshmen team last year. Norman scored 3 goals and has 6 assists so far and Mojica is the key link between the defense and midfield for the Spirits.

Paige Ketchum (Jacksonville, NC), a first-year goalie, made the All-Freshmen team. She has 7 shutouts and an outstanding 0.25 goals against average in 12 games.

Twenty-two GSAC student-athletes landed on the All-Conference team while eleven first-year performers became members of the All-Freshman Team. The entirety of both squads is listed below.

2012 GSAC Women’s Soccer All-Conference Team
Name                                    School                   Class                  Position
Clara Kienzle                      Agnes Scott         Senior                   Forward
Sawyer Ferguson              Salem                   Sophomore         Forward
Stephanie Hubbard           Salem                   Junior                  Defender
Kathryn Allison                   Covenant              Senior                  Defender
Tarryn Bundy                     Salem                    Freshman            Forward
Katelyn Newsome           Covenant            Senior                     Forward
Mary Buys                           Covenant            Junior                     Defender
Mary Kathryn Allen            Huntingdon        Junior                     Defender
MacKenzie Schmidt        Salem                    Junior             Defender
Rachel Avsec                      Salem                    Freshman      Defender
Sheri Koenig                       Covenant            Senior                   Defender
Abby Stephens                   Wesleyan            Sophomore        Goalie
Jasmine Molin                   Spelman              Junior                    Forward
Taylor Norman                   Salem                    Sophomore        Midfielder
Mo Cross                             Covenant            Senior                   Forward
Nataly Mojica                      Salem                    Sophomore        Midfielder
Anne C. Strawbridge        Covenant            Freshman            Midfielder
Jenny Burnash                  Huntingdon        Senior                   Goalie
Kyra Lewis                         Spelman              Senior                   Midfielder
Kate Garrigan                    Huntingdon        Junior                    Defender
Hannah Bales                   Covenant            Sophomore         Goalie
Helene Somda                  Agnes Scott        Sophomore        Forward
 
2012 GSAC Women’s Soccer All-Freshman Team

Name                                    School                   Position
Tarryn Bundy                       Salem                    Forward
Rachel Avsec                      Salem                    Defender
Josie Byard                         Huntingdon           Forward
Courtney Eato                    Spelman               Defender
Sybil Lynch                          Pine Manor          Forward
Paige Ketchum                  Salem                    Goalie
Anne C. Strawbridge        Covenant              Midfielder
Stephanie Hicks                Agnes Scott        Defender
Carlie Reed                       Huntingdon         Midfielder
Ashleigh Fristoe                Huntingdon         Midfielder
Camila Hernandez            Agnes Scott        Midfielder