Fall City athlete named to ?All-America ?First Team
Published 2:39 pm Tuesday, December 8, 2015
Washington University in St. Louis junior forward Katie Chandler of Fall City, was named to the 2015 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division III Women’s Soccer All-America First Team, as announced by the Association.
Chandler and her teammate, senior midfielder Olivia Lillegraven of Coronado, Calif., are the ninth and 10th players in school history to earn first-team honors. It also marks the first time WashU has had a pair of first-team honorees in the same season.
“Months ago, Olivia and Katie agreed to support and play off each other to makes themselves, each other and the team better,” said WashU head coach Jim Conlon. “For both of them to be First-team All-America is truly special due to their personal compromise for the betterment of each other. To be an All-American means to be the best of the best in the country, and we are proud to have two of them.”
Chandler started 22 of 24 games played and had 8 goals and 3 assists for 19 points. She ranked second in the conference in goals, points and game-winning goals (5). Chandler netted three game-winners in UAA play, including back-to-back against No. 3 and previously unbeaten Carnegie Mellon University Oct. 30 and Case Western Reserve University Nov. 1.
She also scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win over No. 4 Illinois Wesleyan University Sept. 19 and in a 1-0 win over Denison University in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Nov. 15.
Chandler, a first-team all-Central Region and all-UAA selection, was named the NSCAA National Player of the Week Nov. 3 and was a two-time UAA Offensive Athlete of the Week honoree. She earned NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team honors after scoring the tying goal against No. 1 Messiah College in the NCAA Semifinals.
WashU tied a single-season record with a 20-3-1 overall record, and finished as the 2015 NCAA Division III national runner-up. The Bears advanced to the Final Four for the third time in school history.
Chandler and Lillegraven will be recognized at the annual NSCAA All-America Luncheon, Saturday, Jan. 16, in conjunction with the 2016 NSCAA Convention in Baltimore.
