Covenant College's Kathryn Allison, Katelyn Newsome, Mary Buys, Sheri Koenig, Mo Cross, Anne Charlotte Strawbridge, and Hannah Bales were all announced as 2012 Great South Athletic Conference All -Conference selections on Thursday afternoon. Strawbridge also earned All-Freshman honors.
Covenant's seven members on the 22-player team were the most in the conference, just one ahead of Salem's six. Covenant finished the regular season with a 15-4-1 record and claimed a share of the GSAC regular season title, along with Salem, after going 9-1 in league play.
Allison, a senior from Birmingham, Ala., scored two goals this season, including a game-winner against Huntingdon on October 13. Allison teamed up with Koenig (Senior; Pamplin, Va.) and Buys (Junior; Luverne, Minn.) to form an imposing back line that allowed just 14 scores all year, resulting in a team goals against average of 0.69.
In addition to her defense, Buys also chipped in two goals on the year.
Newsome led the Lady Scots with nine goals on the season, including the game-winning score in Tuesday's 2-1 win over Berry. The senior from Aichi Gun, Japan, had a two-goal match in a 4-0 victory over Greenville on September 21. Covenant is 8-0 this year when Newsome scores a goal.
Playing just her second year of soccer at Covenant, senior Mo Cross has asserted herself nicely. Cross, a native of Charlotte, N.C., had five goals and led Covenant with five assists this season. She is second on the team in points with 15 and has two game-winning scores, including the lone goal in a crucial 1-0 win over Salem in late September. This is the second straight year that Cross has earned all-conference accolades.
Bales has also played a large role in Covenant's success this season. The keeper has allowed 13 goals this season (0.88 GAA) in 19 games. She has four individual shutouts, but has assisted in several others as Covenant has 11 total shutouts this season. During a stretch of 10 matches in the middle of the season, Bales and the Lady Scots allowed only two goals and had eight shutouts.
In just her freshman season, Strawbridge has contributed significantly. The freshman from Ocala, Fla., tallied a goal and an assist this season but also played a key role in Covenant's defensive effort throughout the season.
Covenant will await to see who they will face in the NCCAA Mid-East Region Tournament on November 16.