HAMMOND – The Southeastern Louisiana University women’s soccer team had a league-high six student-athletes named to the 2010 Preseason All-Southland Conference teams, which were announced by the Southland office on Tuesday.
Southeastern was represented by four student-athletes on the first team. Senior midfielder
Natalie Santana, sophomore forward
Maiya Cooper, junior goalkeeper
Lacey Bockhaus and junior defender
Kyle MacIntosh were each selected to the first team. Senior defenders
Brittany Prieto and
Nicole Brannigan represented the Lady Lions on the second team.
With 15 letterwinners and seven starters – all seven were All-Southland honorees in 2009 – back from last season’s Southland Conference Tournament championship team, Southeastern is one of the favorites in 2010, according to the preseason polls also released by the league office on Tuesday. The Lady Lions were picked to finish second by the Southland head coaches and third by the league’s sports information directors.
Santana, a native of Cypress, Calif., heads into her senior season needing five assists to match the school and Southland Conference career record. A second team All-Southland pick in 2008 and a first team selection a year ago, Santana has finished atop the league in assists in each of the past two years. The catalyst for the offensive attack, Santana was second on the team with nine goals and 28 points a season ago. An All-Southland Tournament selection in 2009, Santana gave Southeastern the lead for good with a first half goal in a 2-0 win over Texas State in the tournament final that put the Lady Lions into the NCAA College Cup for the first time in school history.
Cooper was on the receiving end of several of Santana’s passes, as the Hawthorne, Calif. product teamed with
Karly Dagys to comprise Division I’s top freshman goal scoring tandem in 2009. Second in the conference and tops on the team with 14 goals in 2009, the speedy Cooper was among the national leaders in goals and points per game. In Southeastern’s first-ever appearance in NCAA Tournament play, Cooper found the net against No. 6 Florida State in the Lady Lions’ 4-1 first-round defeat.
While Santana and Cooper lit up the scoreboard in 2009, Bockhaus handled things in net with arguably the greatest statistical season ever by a Lady Lion goalie. The San Leandro, Calif. native followed an impressive freshman campaign with a dominant sophomore season. Bockhaus set league single-season marks for shutouts (12) and goals against average (0.64). Heading into her junior year with 21 career shutouts, Bockhaus is four shutouts short of setting the school’s career record and needs five to break the league record.
MacIntosh, who hails from St. Catharines, Ont., Fairfield, Calif. native Prieto and Brannigan, a Long Beach, Calif. product return in the backfield after helping the Lady Lions post one of the most impressive defensive seasons in league history. The team tied league single-season records for fewest goals allowed (13) and shutouts (13), while setting a new Southland standard for lowest team goals against average.
Defending Southland regular season champion topped the coaches poll with seven first-place votes. The Bobcats were followed by Southeastern (two first-place votes) and Stephen F. Austin (one first-place vote). Sam Houston State and UTSA followed in a tie for fourth, followed by Northwestern State, McNeese State, Lamar, Nicholls and Central Arkansas.
The Southland SID’s put the teams in a slightly altered order. Texas State remained on top with six first-place votes, followed closely by SFA (three first-place votes) and the Lady Lions (one first-place vote). The order continued with UTSA, Sam Houston State, McNeese State, Northwestern State, Lamar, UCA and Nicholls.
Southeastern had six student-athletes on the preseason All-Southland teams, followed by Texas State and SFA with five apiece. UTSA and Sam Houston State each had two representatives, while Lamar and McNeese State both had one.
Southeastern will open the season on Friday, Aug. 20, hosting Mississippi Valley State at 3:30 p.m. at the Southeastern Soccer Complex. The top six teams in the Southland Conference standings will advance to the Southland Conference Tournament in San Marcos, Texas on Nov. 4-7.
2010 Preseason All-Southland Conference Women’s Soccer Teams
First Team
Name – Class – Pos. – University – Hometown
Britney Curry – Sr. – F – Texas State – Cypress, Texas
Maiya Cooper – So. – F – Southeastern Louisiana – Hawthorne, Calif.
Kim Kimmel – So. – F – Stephen F. Austin – El Paso, Texas
Kylie Louw – So. – MF – Stephen F. Austin – Discovery, South Africa
Natalie Santana – Sr. – MF – Southeastern Louisiana – Cypress, Calif.
Chelsea Zimmerman – Sr. – MF – UTSA – Mansfield, Texas
Kelsey Bernard – Jr. – MF – Texas State – The Colony, Texas
Jessica Elting – Sr. – D – Texas State – Flower Mound, Texas
Kyle MacIntosh – Jr. – D – Southeastern Louisiana – St. Catharines, Ont.
Kelli Barnes – Sr. – D – Stephen F. Austin – Allen, Texas
Lacey Bockhaus – Jr. – GK – Southeastern Louisiana – San Leandro, Calif.
Second Team
Name – Class – Pos. – University – Hometown
Allison Dillon – Sr. – F – UTSA – Yorba Linda, Calif.
Laura Sadler – So. – F – Stephen F. Austin – Coppell, Texas
Kirby Zak – So. – F – Sam Houston State – Weatherford, Texas
Erica Michaud – Jr. – F – Texas State – Temple, Texas
Alana Clark – Sr. – MF – McNeese State – Tuscon, Ariz.
Taylor Person – So. – MF – Texas State – Georgetown, Texas
Lisa Topping – So. – MF – Lamar – Leyland, England
Jordan King – Jr. – D – Stephen F. Austin – McKinney, Texas
Nicole Brannigan – Sr. – D – Southeastern Louisiana – Long Beach, Calif.
Brittany Prieto – Sr. – D – Southeastern Louisiana – Fairfield, Calif.
Jenny Pence – Sr. – GK – Sam Houston State – Kingwood, Texas
2010 Preseason Southland Conference Polls
(First-place votes in parentheses)
Head Coaches’ Poll
Team – Points
1. Texas State (7) -- 79
2. Southeastern Louisiana (2) – 74
3. Stephen F. Austin (1) – 59
T4. Sam Houston State – 51
T4. UTSA – 51
6. Northwestern State – 39
7. McNeese State – 36
8. Lamar – 35
9. Nicholls – 14
10. Central Arkansas – 12
SID’s Poll
Team – Points
1. Texas State (6) – 77
2. Stephen F. Austin (3) – 72
3. Southeastern Louisiana (1) – 68
4. UTSA – 52
5. Sam Houston State – 45
6. McNeese State – 44
7. Northwestern State – 39
8. Lamar – 27
9. Central Arkansas – 16
10. Nicholls – 10