ATLANTA – The Sun Belt Conference announced the 2015 Women’s Soccer All-Conference team and individual award winners on Tuesday evening at the pre-tournament banquet at the 2015 Women’s Soccer Championship in Atlanta, Ga. The selections were made in a vote by the league’s 10 head coaches.
Texas State senior, Lynsey Curry, was named the league’s Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year while South Alabama’s Steffi Hardy was named the league’s Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year. Hardy’s teammate, Jemma Purfield, was tabbed as the league’s Freshman of the Year and South Alabama head coach Graham Winkworth was named Head Coach of the Year.
Curry, a 2014 First Team All-Sun Belt selection, had the best season of her career in 2015 which led to a career-high 10 goals and six assists. A two-time Sun Belt Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week in 2015, Curry led the conference in SBC play with eight goals and finished the season with a .211 shot percentage. Curry started and played in every match for Texas State and will finish her Bobcat career in the top three in goals, points, and total shots.
Hardy, a 2014 First Team All-Sun Belt selection as a freshman, was one of several key defenders for the Jaguars this season as USA tied for the league lead in goals allowed during conference play with six. On the season the Jaguars allowed just 14 total goals in 18 matches played and ranked second in shutouts with eight.
Additionally, Hardy ranked tenth in the Sun Belt in goals scored with six and tied for fourth in game-winning goals with two. She was part of a defense that limited nine opponents to nine shots or fewer and seven opponents to three shots on goal or fewer. Hardy played in 1,646 minutes this season as she led the Jaguars in that category.
Hardy’s teammate, Purfield, was one of three Jaguars to start all 18 matches. She was also one of the key defenders for the Jaguars playing alongside Hardy on the backline. She finished tied for second in the Sun Belt in assists with eight and assists per game (0.44). Purfield closed out the regular season with three assists in the final two matches.
USA’s Winkworth earned his second consecutive Sun Belt Coach of the Year award after he led the Jaguars to a 15-2-1 overall record and a 9-0-0 conference mark, a regular season title and the tournament’s top seed. It was the second consecutive regular season title for the Jaguars as they enter the Sun Belt tournament looking for a third consecutive tournament title.
The Jaguars have been a team of consistency over the past two years as they have compiled a 17-0-1 league mark and a 31-4-2 overall record since the start of the 2014 season. As the Jaguars enter the tournament this week they will do so with an RPI of 18, the highest in school history.
In addition to the individual awards the Sun Belt awarded the All-Conference First and Second teams. Top-seeded USA placed seven individuals on the All-Conference teams including five on the first team. Second-seeded Troy had five student-athletes on the two lists. The third-seeded Texas State Bobcats placed three on the All-Conference lists. Appalachian State, Georgia State and Little Rock each placed two student-athletes on the lists while Georgia Southern was represented with one student-athlete.
The 2015 Sun Belt Conference Women's Soccer Championship begins Wednesday, Nov. 4. The opening match will pit No. 5 Little Rock against No. 4 Appalachian State at 10 a.m. (ET). All matches can be seen live via web streaming on the Sun Belt Conference official website - www.sunbeltsports.org. All streamed matches are free for viewing.
2015 All-Sun Belt First Team
Nora El-Shami (Georgia Southern, Senior, Forward)
Chardé Hannah (South Alabama, Sophomore, Forward)
Lynsey Curry (Texas State, Senior, Forward)
Suzanne Arafa (Georgia State, Junior, Midfielder)
Chelsea Followwell (South Alabama, Sophomore, Midfielder)
Danielle Henley (South Alabama, Sophomore, Midfielder)
Alissa Jones (Troy, Senior, Midfielder)
Lindsey Tully (Appalachian State, Sophomore, Defender)
Steffi Hardy (South Alabama, Sophomore, Defender)
Nini Rabsatt-Smith (South Alabama, Senior, Defender)
Mikki Lewis (Troy, Sophomore, Goalkeeper)
2015 All-Sun Belt Second Team
Jane Cline (Appalachian State, Junior, Forward)
Lauren Prater (Texas State, Junior, Forward)
Chelsey Williams (Troy, Senior, Forward)
Ashley Nagy (Georgia State, Senior, Forward)
Caitlyn Eddy (Little Rock, Freshman, Midfielder)
Monique Autmon (South Alabama, Junior, Midfielder)
Jasmine Fahrnbauer (Troy, Senior, Midfielder)
Jemma Purfield (South Alabama, Freshman, Defender)
Chandler Cooney (Texas State, Sophomore, Defender)
Haley Roberson (Troy, Sophomore, Defender)
Sara Small (Little Rock, Junior, Goalkeeper)
2015 Sun Belt Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year
Lynsey Curry (Texas State, Senior, Forward)
2015 Sun Belt Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year
Steffi Hardy (South Alabama, Sophomore, Defender)
2015 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year
Jemma Purfield (South Alabama, Freshman, Defender)
2015 Sun Belt Coach of the Year
Graham Winkworth, South Alabama