ST. JOSEPH – Six members of the Missouri Western women’s soccer team have been named All-MIAA.
Landing on the second team were goalkeeper Sarah Lyle and defender Sydney Andrews. Bridget Blessie earned her first All-MIAA selection as a third team forward. Defenders Taylor Gant and Ashlyn Powers joined mid-fielder Drew Mantlo as honorable mentions. It’s the second consecutive year the team had six players named All-MIAA after repeating as the six-seed in the MIAA postseason tournament and the second straight winning, regular season, the only two in program history.
Sarah Lyle was named second team All-MIAA for the second year in a row and finished the regular season second in the MIAA with a .745 goals against average and an .852 save percentage. She allowed more than one goal in only one match, was named MIAA Goalkeeper of the week once and held opponents scoreless four times. The junior is MWSU’s career leader in wins (20) and shutouts (14.1). She sits second on the career list for saves (269), save percentage (.815) and goals against average (1.14).
Sydney Andrews earned her second All-MIAA selection after being named third team in 2014. Andrews helped her team give up the second fewest goals in the MIA and third lowest goals against average (.82). The senior is MWSU’s career leader in penalty kicks made with three. Andrews has played 5,933 minutes in her career, third most in program history. Her 68 games played are tied for ninth all-time at MWSU and her 67 starts are tied for sixth. As a defender, Andrews was second on the team with 33 shots and scored two goals.
Blessie received her first all-conference nod as a sophomore. She finished the regular season ninth in the MIAA averaging 2.76 shots per game. She finished second in the MIAA with four game winning goals and now sits tied for first in MWSU history with six career game-winning goals. Her five goals this season led the team and moved her into seventh place on the MWSU career list with seven. Blessie is fourth on the career points per game list (.39); goals per game (.19); second in shots per game (1.86); and fourth in shots on goal per game (.86).
Gant was named All-MIAA for the second year in a row after being a second team pick in 2014. She was one of three defenders joining Lyle as 2015 All-MIAA selections. Gant was an MIAA Defender of the Week once this season after scoring her first career goal.
Ashlyn Powers earned her first All-MIAA selection and joined Lyle, Andrews and Gant as All-MIAA defenders for a team that allowed only MIAA champion Central Missouri to score more than one goal. Powers finished the 2015 season with 10 shots, six on goal from her defensive position.
Drew Mantlo wrapped up her final regular season with her first All-MIAA selection. The midfielder finished the 2015 regular season with six shots, two on goal. Mantlo was part of a senior class that won more matches than any other class in program history and qualified the team for its only two postseason appearances (2014 &15). She sits eighth in program history with 69 games played.
The six All-MIAA selections and their teammates continue the 2015 season Wednesday night when they travel to Tahlequah, Oklahoma for the first round of the MIAA Tournament against third seeded Northeastern State.
— MWSU Athletics —