Houghton Women
Named to All-Region Team
#14 Lauren Haggerty
#21 Rebecca Smith
(Houghton, N.Y.)—Two
Houghton College women’s soccer players have been named to All-Region
teams for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics’ ninth
region.
Senior
defender Rebecca Smith earned First Team status while freshman
midfielder Lauren Haggerty was named to the Second Team.
Smith
joins teammate Hannah Swift—who was named Player of the Year, and with
that honor First-Team membership—in receiving the highest vote total in
the region for her position.
Smith, who
is from Carlisle, Pa., scored three goals and was tied for second on the
team with six assists during the season.
“Rebecca
adjusted nicely to playing a new position this year, moving from forward
to central defender,” said David Lewis, head coach of the Houghton team.
“The poise and strong technical skills she brought to the position
enabled an inexperienced defense to improve and to perform well as the
season progressed.”
Haggerty’s
strong play during the season earned her an Offensive Player of the Week
award from the American Mideast Conference. She finished the year with
four goals and three assists
Lewis had
this to say about the first-year player from Warren, N.J.: “From the
outset, Lauren played as a seasoned player and didn’t have the freshman
jitters that typically characterize new players. She reads the game
well, is a great distributor and is very strong in the air.”
The
Highlanders finished the year 13-3-3 after a 2-2-2 start, won the
conference title and earned a spot in the NAIA national tournament for
the fifth consecutive season. They advanced to the second round before
falling to national runner-up Azusa Pacific.
