BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The WKU Lady Topper soccer team held its awards banquet Friday night at Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium. Family and friends joined the team in the Topper Club to celebrate the 2011 season which saw WKU reach the Sun Belt Tournament Championship Game and put together a 13-6-3 overall record.
“I am so proud of our team and honored to be the WKU women’s soccer coach," said head coach Jason Neidell. "We have a great group of young ladies who have high aspirations for themselves and this soccer program. Our banquet tonight is a great tribute to this year’s accomplishments.”
The Lady Topper Team Awards were released publicly for the first time Friday night. Considered the headline announcement of the evening, these prestigious awards are voted on by WKU team members. Senior goalkeeper Libby Stout was named the Most Valuable Player for the third time in four years. The senior goalkeeper posted 10 shutouts in 2011 with a 0.65 goals against average and an .841 save percentage. Stout holds WKU's single-season records for wins and shutouts, as well as the career marks for wins, shutouts and goals against average. A two-time captain, Stout was also awarded the 2011 ROTC Leadership Award. She finished her storied WKU career ranked second all-time in NCAA Division I women's soccer with 39 career shutouts.
Mallory Outerbridge was awarded Offensive Player of the Year after tying the Lady Toppers' single-season goal scoring record with 14 goals in 2011. During the 2011 season, the senior forward became WKU's career leader in goals with 39 and points with 91. Outerbridge was twice named Sun Belt Player of the Week this past season. Ali Stahlke was named the Defensive Player of the Year. The junior defender played all but 11 minutes of the season, leading the WKU defense to a 0.73 goals against average and 12 shutouts. She also scored her first two goals of her career during the 2011 season. Sophomore defender Stephanie Lindsey was named the team's Most Improved Player. After playing only six minutes during the 2010 campaign, Lindsey competed in all 22 matches in 2011, making 21 starts.
Redshirt-Sophomore Taryn O'Shea was honored with the Alumni Spirit Award. This award is voted on by an alumni panel and awarded to the student-athlete who is the "Good Citizen of the Team" and represents the team and WKU well. The Coaches' Award was given to senior midfielder Lindsay Williams. The award is determined by the coaching staff and given to the student-athlete whose outstanding character, commitment, and passion for the game embodies the most positive ideals of intercollegiate athletics.
The Lady Toppers had an impressive array of conference and regional honors in 2011. Two players were selected to the Sun Belt Preseason All-Conference team in Stout and Outerbridge. Those two players were First-Team All-Sun Belt selections in 2011, making them the first four-year All-Conference players in the history of the program. Stahlke's First-Team All-Sun Belt pick and Kelsey Meyer's Second-Team All-Sun Belt honor rounded out the Lady Toppers' regular-season All-Conference accolades. Those four players - Meyer, Stahlke, Stout, and Outerbridge - were all named to the Sun Belt All-Tournament team for their performances in WKU's 2011 run to the championship. WKU had four selections to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division-I All-South Region Teams, tying the Lady Toppers for most in the region with Georgia. Sophomore midfielder Chrissy Tchoula was a Third-Team pick, Stout and Stahlke earned Second-Team honors, and Outerbridge became an All-American candidate with her NSCAA All-South Region First Team nod.
After narrowly missing All-American status for her performance on the field, Outerbridge instead earned the NSCAA Scholar All-America distinction by way of the classroom for the second time in her career. In 2011, Outerbridge became WKU’s sixth Academic All-American after being named to the NSCAA Scholar All-East First Team. Rounding out an illustrious career both on and off the field, Outerbridge was also a CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District Second-Team pick.
Other notable academic awards went to Libby Stout and Ali Stahlke. Stout earned an NSCAA Scholar All-East Third Team selection, while Stahlke became another Academic All-American candidate after receiving CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All-District First-Team honors. Nine Lady Toppers - Outerbridge, Stahlke, Allie Auscherman, Katlyn Barnes, Leslie Chinn, Lindsey Goad, Katrina Ott, Kaylyn Pratt, and Kayla Steber - had perfect 4.0 grade point averages in the Fall 2011 semester.
“It’s no accident that our team’s academic success correlates with athletic success," Neidell said. "Our student-athletes understand what it takes to compete at a high level on the field and in the classroom. When they manage their school work well and are less stressed academically, they can be more focused on the task at hand on the practice and game field. You can have the best of both worlds, and it’s very personally rewarding to me that our team is committed to the total student-athlete experience.”
As a program, WKU won the 2010-2011 Sun Belt Conference Team Academic Award for having the highest team GPA among the 12 conference soccer members. The Lady Toppers also earned the NSCAA College Team Academic Award, finishing the year ranked in the top-10 among all NCAA Division-I schools.
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