Northwestern State lands five on Academic All-Conference teams
NATCHITOCHES—For the second consecutive year and third time in the last four, the Northwestern State soccer team landed multiple players on the Southland Conference Academic All-Conference First Team, the league announced Friday.
Five NSU players were honored in all.
Sophomore defender Nicole Henry added another award after a standout season and senior midfielder Jayden Wheeler became the first Lady Demon to be named to the first team three times.
Forward Jalen Donaldson, defender Natalee Henry and goalkeeper Kayla Bomben earned second-team plaudits.
A season ago, Wheeler and April Trowbridge made the first team. In 2016, Alex Latham, Patry Carrion and Esdeina Gonzalez all made it.
Nicole Henry, the Southland Defender of the Year, anchored a defense that allowed just 1.27 goals and 8.5 shots per game for the best defense in the conference. She also helped the Lady Demons surrender one goal or fewer 17 times in 22 matches.
The Tomball, Texas, native, has a 3.29 GPA in industrial engineering technology, and was a first team All-Conference member.
Wheeler was named to the first team after being chosen to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team (District 6) for the second consecutive season.
She carries a 4.0 GPA in elementary education and was pivotal to the team’s success offensively down the stretch, scoring three goals in the final six contests of her career.
Donaldson was second on the team in goals (4) and points (10) overall but led both categories in league play.
The Richmond, British Columbia, native, has a 3.64 GPA in health and exercise science and played a huge role in NSU experiencing its best season since 2005.
Natalee Henry not only was a part of the best defense in the conference, but she had a knack for scoring big goals in big moments. Against eventual regular-season and tournament champion Lamar, she scored a goal from outside the top of the box in overtime to send the Cardinals to their only league loss of the season. Two days later, she scored in the 74th minute on a free kick to tie the contest late against rival McNeese.
She carries a 3.0 GPA in industrial engineering technology and was a second team all-conference selection.
Bomben was a wall at goalkeeper all season long, registering a 0.99 goals against average and recording two solo shutouts on the season.
The Mississauga, Ontario, native, carries a 4.0 GPA in health and exercise science and pre-physical therapy. Her career goals against average of 1.44 is fourth in school history.
NSU was one of four teams with multiple first team selections led by Abilene Christian’s three. Lamar’s Lucy Ashworth, who was the Conference Player of the Year, was named the Student-Athlete of the Year.
2019 Soccer Student-Athlete of the Year: Lucy Ashworth, Lamar
2019 Soccer All-Academic First Team
| Pos. | Name | School | Cl. | Hometown | GPA | Major |
| F | Lucy Ashworth*2 | Lamar | Jr. | Manchester, England | 3.27 | Nutrition |
| F | Christina Arteaga* | Abilene Christian | Jr. | Pflugerville, Texas | 3.06 | Management |
| F | Keeley Ayala | UIW | So. | Wichita Falls, Texas | 3.48 | Communication Arts |
| F | Havana Johnson | McNeese | Jr. | Coeur d’Alene, Idaho | 3.79 | Nursing |
| MF | Abby Deakin* | A&M-Corpus Christi | Jr. | Broomfield, Colo. | 3.39 | Business Marketing |
| MF | Shay Johnson*2 | Abilene Christian | Sr. | Coppell, Texas | 3.94 | Communications Disorders |
| MF | Anna Loftus* | Lamar | So. | Milton Keynes, England | 3.48 | Modern Languages |
| MF | Courtney Pawlik^ | Sam Houston State | Sr. | Missouri City, Texas | 4.00 | Kinesiology |
| MF | Jayden Wheeler^3 | Northwestern State | Sr. | Rockwall, Texas | 4.00 | Elementary Education |
| D | Ana Campa* | UIW | Sr. | San Antonio, Texas | 3.20 | Criminal Justice |
| D | Nicole Henry* | Northwestern State | So. | Tomball, Texas | 3.29 | Industrial Engineering Technology |
| D | Michelle Mulrooney*2 | Abilene Christian | Sr. | Lumberton, Texas | 3.59 | Nursing |
| D | Megan Rickert^3 | Houston Baptist | Sr. | Round Rock, Texas | 4.00 | Nursing |
| GK | Allyson Halliday^ | Stephen F. Austin | Jr. | Spring, Texas | 4.00 | Secondary Education |
2019 Soccer All-Academic Second Team
| Pos. | Name | School | Cl. | Hometown | GPA | Major |
| F | Jalen Donaldson | Northwestern State | So. | Richmond, British Columbia | 3.64 | Health & Exercise Science |
| F | Blaire Laiche | Nicholls | Sr. | Gonzalez, La. | 3.95 | Biology Pre Med |
| F | Sammi Mayock | Sam Houston State | Gr. | Round Rock, Texas | 3.64 | Crimnal Justice |
| F | Anna Watson | McNeese | Jr. | Spring, Texas | 3.22 | Biology Pre Med |
| MF | Hadley Dickinson | Central Arkansas | Jr. | Cabot, Ark. | 3.35 | Marketing |
| MF | Sophia Fondren2 | Stephen F. Austin | Jr. | Frisco, Texas | 3.95 | Kinesiology |
| MF | Megan Gordon | Southeastern La. | Jr. | Clophill, England | 3.85 | Exercise Science |
| MF | Rachel Palet2 | McNeese | Sr. | Plano, Texas | 3.91 | Exercise Science |
| D | Rebecca Adcock | McNeese | Sr. | Bryan, Texas | 3.97 | Art |
| D | Mya Anders | Lamar | So. | League City, Texas | 3.81 | Finance |
| D | Natalee Henry | Northwestern State | So. | Tomball, Texas | 3.00 | Industrial Engineering Technology |
| D | Brooke Lenz | Abilene Christian | Sr. | Spring, Texas | 3.91 | Accounting |
| GK | Kayla Bomben | Northwestern State | Sr. | Mississauga, Ontario | 4.0 | Health & Exercise Science/Pre-Physical Therapy |
* Automatic selection; First Team All-Conference
^ Automatic selection; CoSIDA Academic All-District
2 Two-time All-Academic selection
3 Three-time All-Academic selection
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CUTLINE: Conference Defensive Player of the Year Nicole Henry and senior midfielder Jayden Wheeler lead a group of five Lady Demons on the Academic All-Conference teams. It is the third time in four years NSU has had multiple players on the first team.
