Six Eagles Named All-GLIAC; Lee Goalkeeper of the Year

Six Eagles Named All-GLIAC; Lee Goalkeeper of the Year

Six Ashland University women's soccer players were selected to the All-GLIAC teams the league office announced on Thursday (Nov. 14), the eve of the conference tournament semifinals in Allendale, Mich. 

Junior Hannah Lee was named the GLIAC Goalkeeper of the Year and joined junior midfielder Emily Mark and redshirt-senior center back Sydney Wright on the first team.

Redshirt-senior forward Deijah Swihart and sophomore center back Tori Baker were named to the second team and sophomore forward Brianna Fourman was an honorable mention selection.

Lee becomes the first goalkeeper in program history to earn first team All-GLIAC honors in back-to-back seasons. She ranks third in the league in goals against average (0.79) and save percentage (.840). Lee was a part of six clean sheets by the Eagles and has a 12-2-1 in goal this season.

She has 63 saves this season with a career-high 10 coming in a 2-0 win at Parkside on Oct. 6. Lee also stopped seven shots in a 3-1 win at Ferris State on Sept. 29. Lee was named the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 30 and Oct. 7.

This is the third straight season Wright has been named to the All-GLIAC teams and her second straight appearance on the first team. A stalwart center back, Wright captains the AU back line and kept five clean sheets while on the field. She has helped the Eagles to a 0.93 goals against average on the season as they have allowed one or zero goals in 13 of her 16 games played this season.

Wright was named the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 14 after Ashland permitted just one goal in two games against Northwood and Ferris State. She scored what became the eventual game-winning goal late in the first half of a 2-1 victory against the Bulldogs.

Mark is on the All-GLIAC teams for the second time in her career after picking up second team honors as a freshman in 2017. She has started all 18 games for the Eagles as a central midfielder and serves as one of the key cogs in the Eagles' possession game. A terrific ball-winner and distributor, Mark has controlled the pitch in many games as the fulcrum between the defense and attackers. She has one assist on the season, coming in the 3-1 win at Ferris State on Sept. 29.

Swihart is now a two-time All-GLIAC selection after picking up first team honors as a sophomore in 2016. She was also named the league's Freshman of the Year in 2015. After missing a bulk of last season to injury Swihart has come back this year to start every game and lead the Eagles with 10 goals, a mark that puts her fifth in the league. That number is currently one off her career high.

She scored both goals in Ashland's 2-1 overtime win over Davenport on Senior Day and also won the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week award on Oct. 28 by scoring three goals and adding an assist in two wins at Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan. Her 34 goals put her in a tie for fifth on AU's all-time list. 

Baker is a two-time All-GLIAC standout after two seasons at Ashland. She was an honorable mention selection as a freshman center back. This year, she joined up once again with Wright to form a dynamic defensive duo in front of Lee at the back as the Eagles have given up just 17 goals in 18 games.

Baker also has a goal and ranks second on the team with five assists on the season as the Eagles' primary long free-kick taker. Twice this season she had assists in back-to-back games, including the last two games of the regular season. 

Fourman saw a significant increase in playing time as a sophomore this year, starting all 18 games and was rewarded with an All-GLIAC honorable mention selection. A creator as a withdrawn forward, Fourman generated much of the Eagles' movement going forward and has three goals on the season. She scored an 86th minute game-winner in a 2-1 win at Northwood on Sept. 27.

The Eagles, in their second season under head coach Taylor Clarke, are the No. 3 seed in the GLIAC Tournament and will play No. 2 seed Saginaw Valley on Friday (Nov. 15) at 7:30 p.m. in the semifinals in Allendale, Mich.

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