Montgomery, Ala.- The Southern States Athletic Conference announced the 2016 SSAC Women's Soccer All-Conference teams and award winners Tuesday at the SSAC Soccer Awards Banquet.
The No. 2 nationally ranked Martin Methodist Women's Soccer team was well represented at the banquet with several high-profile awards handed out and 12 total RedHawks honored amongst the All-Conference, All-Academic, All-Freshman and Champions of Character Teams.
Senior captain Linzi Taylor was honored as the league's Defensive Player of the Year for her efforts on the back line for the RedHawks in 2016. Taylor also amassed seven goals, 12 assists, and 26 points, paired with a game-winning goal in the regular season.
Freshman midfielder Riko Sagara was honored as the league's Freshman of the Year after a sensational first season as a RedHawk. Sagara notched nine goals and nine assists for a total of 27 points in 2016.
Millene Cabral landed a nod on the league's First Team All-SSAC list thanks to her sensational first half of the year. Cabral finished the regular season with a total of 16 goals- good for 21st in the NAIA in 2016, despite being sidelined due to injury for most of the latter half of the season. Additionally, Cabral finished 22nd and 25th in the points and game-winning goals categories, respectively. The sophomore also earned an All-Academic selection for her achievements in the classroom.
Hikaru Nakamura and Caroline Ladaga rounded out the All-SSAC First Team selections for the RedHawks. Nakamura contributed one goal and four points throughout the 2016 regular season. Ladaga posted six goals, six assists, and 18 points in the regular season during her junior campaign.
Forward Katie Reid and goalkeeper Caitlin Dumond garnered Second Team All-SSAC selections thanks to their play in the regular season. Reid was arguably the RedHawks MVP in the second half of the season as she collected 10 goals, four assists and 24 points throughout the regular season. Reid also earned All-Academic status for the RedHawks.
Dumond posted a .85 goals against average, eight shutouts, and an 82.9% save percentage during the regular season.
Kate Wallace earned a berth on the All-Freshman team for the RedHawks with two goals, two assists and six points on her scoresheet in 2016.
Hannah Mayberry, Megan Venable, Meagan Precourt and Hannah Johnson joined Cabral and Reid on the All-Academic teams. Mayberry was chosen as the team's Champions of Character winner due to her sportsmanship on the pitch and outreach in the Pulaski community.
Martin Methodist meets No. 3 seed William Carey (Miss.) University in the semifinals of the SSAC Women's Soccer Championship Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. in Montgomery, Alabama.
