Banks Earns Top Awards; Eight Named To All-PSUAC Women’s Soccer Teams
MEDIA, Pa. -- Penn State Brandywine freshman Brianna Banks (Philadelphia, Pa./Parkway Center) was named Penn State University Athletic Conference Player and Newcomer of the Year by the league's head coaches on Wednesday. Banks was also selected first team all-conference along with three of her teammates.
Joining Banks as first team all-conference performers were classmates Emily Bush (Bayville, N.J./Central Regional), Brooke Muhlbaier (Millville, N.J./Millville) and Rachel Weir (Neptune City, N.J./Red Bank Regional).
Senior Olivia Encarnacion (Glenolden, Pa./Interboro), sophomore Arianna Segich (Ocean City, N.J./Ocean City) and freshman Samantha Bearden (Ewing, N.J./Ewing) were each second team all-PSUAC honorees, while sophomore Amber Phillips (Brookhaven, Pa./The Christian Academy) landed honorable mention accolades.
Banks, the leading scorer in the PSUAC and third-leading scorer nationally, scored 29 goals and added nine assists for 67 total points. She scored in 13 of Brandywine's 14 matches and produced at least two goals on seven occasions.
On Sept. 21 in a 10-0 win against Penn State Greater Allegheny, Banks set a program record with six goals and 13 total points. Just four days earlier, she recorded a 12-point effort against Penn State Scranton with five goals and two helpers.
Bush, the lone Lion to start all 14 games this fall, played every minute of every contest in goal. The PSUAC leader in victories, shutouts, goals-against average and save percentage stopped 48 of the 58 shots she faced this season.
Bush ranks second nationally with 13 victories and eight shutouts, while standing fourth in goals-against average (0.72) and seventh in save percentage (.828). Against PSUAC teams, she surrendered just five goals in 12 matches. In September, Bush set a program record with a shutout streak of 349:57.
Muhlbaier was Brandywine's third-leading scorer with 10 goals and nine assists for 29 points. Her nine assists tied Banks for second in the league and ninth nationally, while her 29 points were the ninth-highest total in the conference.
Muhlbaier's 10th goal of the season provided the game-winning score in Brandywine's 1-0 victory over Schuylkill in the PSUAC championship game on Wednesday night. She enters the USCAA Tournament having scored a goal in six-straight games and with at least one point in 10 of Brandywine's last 11 matches.
Weir ranked second on the team with 12 goals and 31 total points, while also standing in the top 10 in the PSUAC in each category. She was also ninth in the league with seven assists.
Weir produced five two-goal games,including three-straight to end October, and recorded at least five points on four occasions. She set a season high with six points (2G, 2A) in Brandywine's semifinal win over Mont Alto on Saturday.
In 11 matches, Bearden recorded three goals and six assists for 12 points. Three of her helpers came in a win over Mont Alto on Oct. 12 and she also collected a goal and a pair of assists against the same Mont Alto team in conference semifinals five days ago.
Encarnacion, now a two-time all-PSUAC women's soccer standout, registered three goals and one assist during her senior season. An all-American in women's soccer, basketball and softball, Encarnacion played in 12 matches with 11 starts this season.
The fourth-leading scorer on the team, Segich produced 19 points with seven goals and five assists. From Sept. 14-24, Segich scored goals in four consecutive PSUAC matches, capping off the streak with a hat trick against Penn State Beaver. Also an all-conference standout in PSUAC softball, Segich appeared in 12 matches, starting 11 this fall.
Now a two-time, all-conference performer, Phillips appeared in 13 games as a defender. She aided a Brandywine defense that allowed just 10 goals in 15 games, the second-lowest total nationally, and also scored her first collegiate goal during a Sept. 17 victory over Penn State Scranton.
With its 1-0 victory over Schuylkill in the PSUAC championship game, Brandywine (14-1) earned the league's automatic bid to the USCAA Tournament. The Lions will be seeded ninth and will open nation play against Bryant & Stratton (N.Y.) on Friday, Nov. 11.
