Fisher along with Rachel Locke, Stephanie Piperno and Sophie Newsom were honored with all-league honors
Fisher Tabbed W. Soccer SoCon Freshman of the Year; Four ‘Cats Earn All-League Honors
11/1/2011 12:08:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Gavin McFarlin -- Assistant SID
- Find Your Favorite Wildcat Action Shot at DavidsonPhotos.com
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Breaking onto the scene as one of the top freshman in the Southern Conference this year, Davidson's Becca Fisher (Fredericksburg, Va.) was named the league's Freshman of the Year, while three other Wildcats were honored with all-league honors as announced today by the SoCon office.
The league's coaches voted on a pair of 11-player all-conference teams as well as individual awards.
Fisher, who led the team in goals, assists and points, became the third Wildcat in the past six seasons to garner the league's top freshman honor, joining Mel Smith (2005) and Suzanne Sittko (2006). Fisher is the fourth 'Cat overall to tally the honor as Kara Koehrn (2002) was the first for Davidson. All four have played under the guidene of head coach Greg Ashton.
“Becca being selected as the Freshman of the Year is a great honor for her and our program,” said Ashton. “There were a number of talented freshmen in the SoCon this year, but I feel Becca demonstrated an extremely high level of play throughout the season and is fully deserving of this award. She is a very humble player and I know she will be grateful to the support of her teammates who helped her have a great season which enabled her to be recognized by the coaches for this accolade.”
Earning a spot on the All-SoCon Second Team was senior Sophie Newsom (Atlanta, Ga.), while joining Fisher on the All-SoCon Freshman Team was goalkeeper Rachel Locke (Carlsbad, Calif.) and forward Stephanie Piperno (Harwinton, Conn).
The duo of Fisher and Piperno were a scoring threat everytime they stepped onto the field. They combined for 13 goals, seven assists and 33 points to go along with five game-winning goals. Fisher paced the team with seven goals and 18 points, while tying for the team-lead with four assists. She tallied four game-winners – tied for most in the SoCon – and was named the league's Player of the Week for games played over Oct. 10-16.
“Becca and Stephanie have lead our front line all season,” said Ashton. “They have adapted extremely well to the rigors of the college game and I look forward to them being even better in the coming years.”
The first-year forward Fisher closed out the month of October with three goals, including a pair of game-winning scores, and three assists, while leading Davidson to a fourth place finish with a 7-4 SoCon mark.
Piperno was right behind Fisher with six goals, three assists and 15 points. She put 31 of her 57 shots on goal and registered her first collegiate game-winner in a 4-2 win at George Washington when she netted a pair of goals.
Goalkeeper Locke stepped into the starting lineup on Sept. 11 at Navy and never looked back, compiling an 8-6-1 record between the pipes. The freshman recorded her first collegiate win when she came into the game in the second half at George Washington and shut out the Colonials as Davidson came back for the win. Her first career shutout came in a 1-0 win vs. Elon, Sept. 30. She had three on the season, ranking her fourth in the league.
Newsom had a career senior campaign. A valuable member off the bench who started nine of her 20 games, Newsom set career bests with three goals, one assist and seven points. The defender netted her first collegiate goal agianst Florida Gulf Coast, Aug. 28. She also picked up goals vs. George Washington and Appalachian State, while her assist came at College of Charleston.
“I'm excited for Sophie to be recognized by SoCon coaches by her inclusion on the SoCon team,” said Ashton”. “She is a wonderful young woman who plays just as hard at practice as she does in the games. This is a fantastic way for her to finish up her college career.”
Davidson conlcuded its 2011 season at 9-9-2, while finishing with a league mark of 7-4. It was the seventh time in the past eight seasons the 'Cats have had a winning league mark and was the sixth time in the last seven seasons they finished fourth or better.
After navigating through conference play unbeaten and claiming its first SoCon regular-season title, Samford was rewarded with four first-team all-conference players and the Coach of the Year award went to Todd Yelton. Furman had the Player of the Year in Rachel Shelnutt after scoring 12 goals and accumulating 27 points on the season.
2011 Women's Soccer All-Conference Team
Player of the Year – Rachel Shelnutt, Sr., F, Furman
Coach of the Year – Todd Yelton, Samford
Freshman of the Year – Becca Fisher, F, Davidson
First Team
F-Rachel Shelnutt, Furman
F-Kristin Player, UNCG
F-Sarah Wilkinson, Samford
F-Donna-Kay Henry, Chattanooga
MF-Sarah Schaidle, College of Charleston
MF-Vanessa Aponte, The Citadel
MF-Michelle Moll, Samford
D-Hannah Gmerek, College of Charleston
D-Ali Simpson, Furman
D-Sabbath McKiernan-Allen, Samford
GK-Alyssa Whitehead, Samford
Second Team
F-Hope Atkinson, College of Charleston
F-Mariana Garcia, The Citadel
F-Becca Smith, Chattanooga
MF-Olivia Mackey, Elon
MF-Karin Sendel, UNCG
MF-Kayla Beauduy, Western Carolina
D-Sophie Newsom, Davidson
D-Andrea Keller, Elon
D-Stephanie Partenheimer, UNCG
GK-Jessica Smith, Furman
GK-Kelsey Kearney, UNCG
All-Freshman Team
Ali Brashear, College of Charleston
Sarah Cardamone, College of Charleston
Becca Fisher, Davidson
Rachel Locke, Davidson
Stephanie Piperno, Davidson
India Robinson, Furman
Ali Simpson, Furman
Ashley Stokes, UNCG
Joy Grove, Samford
Brittany Hoffman, Samford
Crystal Mackezyk, Chattanooga
Women's Soccer Postseason Virtual Event with Captains
Tuesday, December 16
Women's Soccer vs Duquesne - Match Rewind
Monday, January 30
2022 Women's Soccer Preview
Wednesday, August 17
2022 Women's Soccer Preseason
Friday, August 05
