Southeastern Louisiana University

FRISCO, Texas – After helping Southeastern to its first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, Lady Lion senior defender Dana Mayer was named the 2009 Capital One Southland Conference Women’s Soccer Student-Athlete of the Year in an announcement from the league office.

Mayer, who is a biology major with a 4.0 grade point average, was one of three members of the Southland Conference Tournament champions to earn Southland All-Academic honors. Mayer was joined on the first team by senior midfielder Candice Wallace, who has a 3.15 GPA in Exercise Science.

Sophomore Kyle MacIntosh, who carries a 4.0 GPA as a fitness and human performance major, represented the Lady Lions on the second team. Mayer, Wallace and MacIntosh were the team captains for a Southeastern squad that earned its first berth in the national tournament with a 2-0 win over two-time defending league regular season champion Texas State in the Southland Conference finals.

Mayer, a Toronto native, is the third player in the program’s history to earn Southland Student-Athlete of the Year accolades. Previous Lady Lion winners were Kari Yost (2006) and Alexis Tramacchi (2003).

“We’re very pleased to see Dana receive this recognition,” Southeastern head coach Blake Hornbuckle commented. “Dana is the consummate student-athlete and has displayed the work ethic necessary to be successful both on and off the field. Her drive will ensure that she will be successful in her field in the future.

“Candice and Kyle both also are very deserving of their honors,” Hornbuckle added. “Both were not only tremendous in competition, but handled themselves with integrity and character off the field. Dana, Candice and Kyle are fine examples of the type of well-rounded student-athletes we look for to join our program. We want to continue to attract players who come to Southeastern with the desire and to excel academically, athletically and in the community.”

The honor was just the latest in a slew of academic accolades for Mayer, who is a three-time Southland All-Academic and ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District selection, as well as earning NSCAA All-South Region Scholar honors as a junior. Mayer and Macintosh, along with All-Southland Conference juniors Nicole Brannigan and Brittany Prieto, helped Southeastern set league single-season records for fewest goals allowed (13) and shutouts (13). A first team All-Southland Conference and All-Louisiana honorable mention selection, Mayer made a seamless transition to the backfield after starring as an outside midfielder in her first three seasons.

Wallace, who hails from Guelph, Ont., was named to the Southland Conference All-Academic Team for the second straight season. Like Mayer, Wallace was a first team All-Southland Conference and honorable All-Louisiana selection, after helping Southeastern finish with a league record 57 assists to go with a league-best 56 goals. Wallace was among the team’s top scorers with six goals and nine points and scored the game-winning penalty kick in Southeastern’s shootout victory over Stephen F. Austin in the Southland Conference Tournament semifinals. Wallace finished her career ranked among the school’s career leaders in goals (20, 6th), assists (23, 2nd), points (63, 5th), game-winning goals (6, 5th) and matches played (77, 9th).

MacIntosh, a St. Catherines, Ont. native, rounds out Southeastern’s Southland All-Academic contingent. A second team All-Southland Conference and honorable mention All-Louisiana selection, MacIntosh was a force all season in the back, particularly in the Southland Conference Tournament, as she earned All-Southland Tournament honors after keying the two postseason shutouts.

Nominated by each institution's athletic media relations director and selected by a voting contingent made up of sports information directors, head coaches and academic or compliance administrators, all-academic team members must have posted at least a cumulative 3.00 GPA, completed at least one full academic year at the member institution prior to the season in which the nomination occurs, and competed in a minimum of 50 percent of the sport's contests during the most recently completed season. Student-Athlete of the Year candidates must meet all the above criteria with a minimum 3.20 grade point average.

2009 Southland Conference Women’s Soccer All-Academic Teams

First Team
Name – School – Pos. – Cl. – Hometown – GPA – Major
Dana Mayer – Southeastern La. – D – Sr. – Toronto, Ont. – 4.0 – Biology
Megan Cash – Stephen F. Austin – F – Sr. – Austin, Texas – 3.91 – Communication Studies
Britney Curry – Texas State – F – Jr. – Cypress, Texas – 3.32 – Accounting
Chelsey Gibbs – Northwestern State – F – Sr. – San Antonio, Texas – 3.49 – Hospitality, Management & Tourism
Kelsey Bernard – Texas State – MF – So. – The Colony, Texas – 3.28 – Exercise & Sports Science
Alana Clark – McNeese State – MF – Jr. – Tuscon, Ariz. – 3.51 – Health & Human Performance
Candice Wallace – Southeastern La. – MF – Sr. – Guelph, Ont. – 3.15 – Exercise Science
Chelsea Zimmerman – UTSA – MF – Jr. – Mansfield, Texas – 3.39 – Business
Erin Binagia – Lamar – D – Jr. – Nederland, Texas – 4.0 – Exercise Science
Jessica Elting – Texas State – D – Jr. – Flower Mound, Texas – 3.40 – Interdisciplinary Studies
Ezinne Okpo – UTSA – D – Sr. – Denton, Texas – 3.81 – Political Science
Jenny Pence – Sam Houston State – GK – Jr. – Kingwood, Texas – 4.0 – Biology

Southland Conference Student-Athlete of the Year: Dana Mayer, Southeastern La.

Second Team
Name – School – Pos. – Cl. – Hometown – GPA – Major
Allison Dillon – UTSA – F – Jr. – Yorba Linda, Calif. – 3.36 – Accounting
Alicia Gautreau – Nicholls – F – Sr. – Gonzales, La. – 3.44 – Nursing
Erica Michaud – Texas State – F – So. – Temple, Texas – 3.04 – Undecided
Katie Dugan – UTSA – MF – So. – Denton, Texas – 3.86 – Biology
Rachel O’Steen – Northwestern State – MF – So. – Wylie, Texas – 3.74 – Journalism
Sarah Sadler – Northwestern State – MF – Jr. – Coppell, Texas – 3.66 – Psychology
Chelsea Brozgold – Northwestern State – D – Sr. – Arlington, Texas – 3.40 – Health & Human Performance
Kyle MacIntosh – Southeastern La. – D – So. – St. Catherines, Ont. – 4.0 – Fitness & Human Performance
Kate Wesneski – Sam Houston State – D – So. – Katy, Texas – 4.0 – General Business Administration
Lindy Strahan – Northwestern State – GK – Sr. – Georgetown, Texas – 3.65 – Psychology