MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A total of seven Martin Methodist Women's Soccer players received hardware Wednesday night as the 2014 Southern States Athletic Conference All-Conference teams were announced at the league's official awards banquet.
OFFICIAL SSAC RELEASE
Caroline Ladaga da Silva was named the league's Freshman of the Year after turning in one of the best freshman campaigns in Martin Methodist history. The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil native also landed a berth on the All-SSAC First Team after scoring a team-best 10 goals and helping on a team-best eight assists. The 10 goals were fourth best in the conference while the eight assists ranked second in the league.
Joining Ladaga da Silva on the first team were midfielders Anna Becerra and Fabiola Sanchez and defender Linzi Taylor.
Becerra earned the nod after scoring a career-best four goals in the regular season. The senior captain also assisted on one goal while also helping drop back in support of the RedHawk defense.
Sanchez earned the first team berth despite missing five regular-season contests while playing for her native Costa Rica during World Cup Qualification in October. Sanchez was a key cog for the RedHawks when she was in the lineup, scoring a career-best four goals on the year.
Taylor rounded out the RedHawk first team selections after emerging as the club's everday center back. The Glasgow, Scotland native provided rock solid defense during the early portion of the year and emerged as a goal-scoring threat by regular-season's end. The sophomore scored all four of her goals in a one-week stretch in late October, including a game-winner against Faulkner (Ala.) University on Oct. 23.
Jhani Williams, Jennifer Munoz and Pamela Gorgona earned nods on the All-SSAC Second Team while also turning in solid performances for the RedHawks.
Williams appeared in 13 of the RedHawks 16 regular-season contests, logging nearly 1,130 total minutes in net while recording eight victories. The Murray, Utah native registered a career-best four clean sheets and made a personal-best 38 saves during the regular season.
Munoz landed on the All-Conference sheet in just her first season in a RedHawk uniform. The junior rotated between a variety of positions for the RedHawks, but ultimately settled in as the team's everyday left back. Munoz tallied a total of three regular-season goals while adding two more assists.
Gorgona, also in her first season in a RedHawk uniform, scored just one goal for the RedHawks but added four assists to earn her spot on the second team. The Heredia, Costa Rica native was lost to injury in the RedHawks final regular-season contest, but still performed well enough to also earn a nod on the league's All-Freshman team.
RedHawk sophomore Carla Gross was honored as the team's Champions of Character Award while Williams, Megan Venable and Meagan Precourt were recognized for their successes in the classroom on the league's All-Academic team.
The banquet kicked off the second half of the SSAC's Women's Soccer Championships, with games beginning on Thursday morning at the Emory Folmar YMCA Youth Soccer Complex.
The third-seeded RedHawks take on second-seeded William Carey (Miss.) University in their conference tournament semifinal. Kickoff in Thursday's contest is set for 1:30 p.m.
"This was a great night to recognize some of our ladies for their hard work this season," RedHawks head coach Tyson John said. "These young ladies have been tireless workers both in and out of the classroom and it was rewarding to see them recognized tonight. This was a great event by the conference and now we look forward to a tough contest against William Carey tomorrow."
