BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Conference USA released its All-Academic Women's Soccer teams prior to the start of the C-USA Women's Soccer Championship yesterday and WKU Soccer landed three student-athletes on the two teams in senior Allie Auscherman and sophomores Iris Dunn and Caitlin Hesse.
Auscherman, who wrapped up her Lady Topper career Wednesday, was named to the All-Academic First Team while Dunn and Hesse were selected to the All-Academic Second Team. Hesse, a biology major, was one of three honored players to hold a perfect cumulative GPA of 4.0.
WKU's three selections to the Conference USA All-Academic teams tied rival Middle Tennessee for a league-high.
Auscherman finished her career as one of 11 players in school history to play in 80 matches and was a vital piece to 45 victories as WKU's holding midfielder. She appeared in 80 of a possible 81 matches in her career and logged 5,558 minutes, three goals, three assists and aided WKU to a pair of Sun Belt Conference championship matches.
She has stood out even more in the classroom, where she holds a 3.96 cumulative GPA as an exercise science major. Auscherman's academic excellence also led to her being named to the Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-District®Team on Oct. 30. The Carmel, Ind. native has recorded a perfect 4.0 GPA in five of her six completed semesters and been on the President's List in all three years of her career.
Dunn and Hesse have been major contributors on the field during their first two seasons on the Hill and have proven to be even stronger in the classroom. Both have been outstanding students as biology majors, with Dunn holding a 3.81 cumulative GPA and Hesse coming in perfect at 4.0. Dunn and Hesse were also both recognized as Commissioner's List honorees in the Sun Belt Conference has freshmen in 2013.
On the field, Dunn has already moved into 10th place all-time at WKU with 12 career goals, six of which have come in game-winning fashion. Her five game-winners in 2013 were the second-most in a single season ever by a WKU player. Dunn was named the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 20 after scoring two goals in a 4-3 win over rival Middle Tennessee and ranked second on the team in 2014 with five goals and 11 overall points.
Hesse has played in all 39 games the past two seasons and registered a pair of goals and a pair of assists from her attacking midfield position. She netted her first-career game-winner in WKU's inaugural C-USA match versus Marshall on Sept. 27 and became the first Lady Topper to record multiple assists in a game since 2010 when she dished out a pair of helpers in a 3-1 win over UTSA on Oct. 12.
The Lady Toppers concluded their 2014 season on Wednesday when they fell 1-0 to second-seeded Rice in the opening round of the Conference USA Women's Soccer Championship. WKU finished its first campaign with a 10-8 overall record, including a 5-5 mark in league play.
For more information on WKU Soccer, follow the team on Twitter at @WKU_Soccer or visit WKUSports.com.
All-Academic First Team
Claire Emslie, Florida Atlantic, Junior, 3.93, Exercise Science
Kathryn Sloan, Louisiana Tech, Sophomore, 4.00, Communication Arts and Design
Kelly Culicerto, Marshall, Junior, 3.67, Business Management
Kelsey Bransletter, Middle Tennessee, Senior, 4.00, Athletic Training
Kelsey Brouwer, Middle Tennessee, Junior, 3.87, Management
Rachel Holden, North Texas, Sophomore, 3.78, Kinesiology
Amy Czyz, Rice, Senior, 3.62, Sports Management
Casey Adkins, Southern Miss, Senior, 3.75, Nursing
Brittany Taylor, Southern Miss, Sophomore, 3.88, Finance
Hannah Asuchak, UTEP, Senior, 3.90, Pre-Business
Allie Auscherman, WKU, Senior, 3.96, Exercise Science
All-Academic Second Team
Tori Fubara, Charlotte, Junior, 3.90, Psychology
Shelby Hicks, Charlotte, Sophomore, 3.81, Pre-Kinesiology
Ashleigh Shim, FIU, Senior, 3.56, Sports and Fitness Studies
Johanna Volz, FIU, Senior, 3.77, Sports and Fitness Studies
Tori Hawkins, Middle Tennessee, Junior, 3.70, Aerospace Technology
Jessie Klamut, Old Dominion, Senior, 3.63, Therapeutic Recreation
Lauren Hughes, Rice, Junior, 3.32, Sports Management
Johanna Liney, UAB, Senior, 3.24, Civil Engineering
Anissa Munson, UTSA, Senior, 3.79, Kinesiology
Iris Dunn, WKU, Sophomore, 3.81, Biology
Caitlin Hesse, WKU, Sophomore, 4.0, Biology
