Banks, Jacquette Land Top PSUAC Honors; Seven Named All-PSUAC First Team
MEDIA, Pa. -- Sophomore Brianna Banks (Philadelphia, Pa./Parkway Center) was selected as the Penn State University Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Player of the Year for the second-straight season, while Head Coach Michelle Jacquette was voted as the league's coach of the year by her peers on Friday.
Of the 12 student-athletes named first team all-conference, seven represent Brandywine. Banks and Christina Kane (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) were first team forwards, while Samantha Bearden (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) and Rachel Weir (Neptune City, N.J./Red Bank Regional) were selected as all-conference midfielders. Brandywine had three of the five defenders earning all-conference as Michaela Lowery (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York), Kierra MacLeod (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) and Arianna Segich (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) all received recognition.
During her first season at Brandywine, Jacquette led the team to a 10-1-1 record and its second-straight conference championship. After a season-opening tie against Immaculata, Brandywine reeled off nine-straight victories, including a triumph over NCAA Division II Lincoln. The Lions won all seven matches against PSUAC competition, outscoring opponents by a combined score of 34-5.
Banks, who also earned first team all-conference last year, again led the PSUAC in total points and goals scored this fall. Her 42 points were 15 greater than her next closest competitor, while she netted 19 goals, tied for the fourth-highest total in the USCAA.
Banks became Brandywine's first-ever women's soccer 100-point scorer, eclipsing the 100-point mark in just her 25th-career game. During that 7-0 triumph over Beaver on Oct. 14, she netted three goals for her third three-goal game of the season. Overall, she posted seven multi-goal performances in 12 games.
Kane finished second on the team with eight goals, while also adding three assists for 19 total points. She scored at least once in 7-of-11 games, including five-straight from Sept. 5-28. Kane helped Brandywine to its second-straight PSUAC title on Wednesday by recording one goal and one assist in the Lions' 5-0 victory over Schuylkill.
Bearden earned her second-straight all-conference award after claiming second team laurels as a freshman. As a starter in all 12 games, Bearden recorded four goals and five assists for 13 points. Eight of Bearden's points came in PSUAC matches, including a four-point game against Beaver on Sept. 16.
Weir is now a two-time First Team All-PSUAC standout in two seasons at Brandywine. She logged two goals and four assists and was a starter in all 12 games this fall. Weir's eight points were the fifth-highest total on the team, while her four assists were tied for third.
Three of the five defenders honored came from Brandywine after the Lions allowed only five goals in seven conference games and just 15 in 12 matches overall.
Lowery was a starter in all 10 games she played this fall as the team's center back. She recorded one shot on goal, while also being selected as the team's John Fritz Sportsmanship Award winner. Named after former PSUAC Commissioner John Fritz, the sportsmanship award is given to one player from each team in the league who best displays the core values of the league and sportsmanship to teammates and opponents throughout the season.
MacLeod started all 12 of the team's games this fall and has now played in all 28 matches over the last two years. She owns two goals and three assists during her career.
Segich became Brandywine's first-ever student-athlete to be a member of four conference championship winning teams on Wednesday as she owns two softball titles in addition to a pair of women's soccer crowns. She earned her third all-PSUAC women's soccer honor after contributing a pair of assists in 12 matches.
Brandywine will compete at the USCAA Tournament in Virginia Beach, Va., next week beginning with pool play matches against Albany College of Pharmacy (Nov. 10) and Johnson & Wales (Nov. 11).
