Three Alabama Soccer Players Earn Four SEC Postseason Honors
11/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama senior defender and captain Abby Lutzenkirchen was named the Southeastern Conference Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year and was one of three Crimson Tide players to earn SEC honors, as the league office announced its postseason awards on Sunday.
Lutzenkirchen and midfielder Celia Jimenez were selected to the league's second team, while forward Emma Welch was named an SEC All-Freshmen team performer.
It marks the second consecutive year an Alabama player has claimed the SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year award, as Laura Lee Smith earned the honor last season. The only other Crimson Tide women's soccer to earn the prestigious honor was Libby Probst in 2005.
Last week, Lutzenkirchen was selected to the CoSIDA/Capital One Academic All District 5 First Team. The skipper has excelled in the classroom, owning a 3.96 grade point average as a public relations major, a program that ranks near the top nationally. She has also been named to the Southeastern Conference's Academic Honor Roll three times during her time at the Capstone.
On the field, Lutzenkirchen has been one of the Tide's top contributors throughout her four-year career. She finished her career having played 6,713 minutes, the most in program history. She also started and played in all 75 games in her career, which ranked as the seventh-most in program history. This season, she and Jimenez were the only two players to start and play in all 19 matches, and Lutzenkirchen was the only member of the team to play in all 1,782 minutes of the 2015 campaign.
Jimenez was one of the Tide's top contributors this season, leading the team in points (10), goals (4) and assists (2) and shots (55). Her total shots matched the seventh-most in a season in program history. The Spanish national was also selected to TopDrawerSoccer.com's Team-of-the-Week for the week of Sept. 15.
Welch emerged as an offensive spark and steady presence for Alabama this season, having been the only freshman to play in all 19 games. She finished the year leading the team with four assists during the 2015 campaign, which marked the most assists in a season by a freshman in program history.
The awards mark the seventh consecutive season the Tide has had a player named to the league's all-conference team, which ties the all-time record set from 1994-2000.
Missouri head coach Bryan Blitz earned his first ever SEC Coach of the Year award. Florida players Savannah Jordan and Christen Westphal were named the SEC Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, while Ole Miss' CeCe Kizer was named Freshman of the Year.
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