Four Spartans earn NSCAA all-region honors
KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Four UNCG women's soccer players have earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Performance Subaru All-Southeast Region accolades, the organization announced recently. Kelsey Kearney, Cat Barnekow, Tabitha Padgett and Jenn Partenheimer were honored.
Kearney, Barnekow and Padgett earned second-team distinction, while Partenheimer took a spot on the third team. All four of them were All-Southern Conference First-Team selections this year. The four all-region selections are the most for UNCG since 1997, when the Spartans also had four.
Kearney was the Southern Conference Championship's Most Outstanding Player after posting shutouts in all three contests. The goalkeeper from Durham, N.C., matched the school record with 12 shutouts this season, turning in a 0.55 goals against average, the second-best in school history and 11th-best in NCAA Division I this year. She was the SoCon Player of the Week on Aug. 31 and became UNCG's career shutouts leader this season in just her junior year. A team captain, she was also named to the Under Armour Invitational All-Tournament Team after shutting out Southern Cal in UNCG's opener of the tournament.
Barnekow had a breakout junior season, exploding for career highs in points (22), goals (four) and assists (14). Her 14 assists led the SoCon and were third in NCAA Division I, while she was fourth in the nation in assists per game (0.64). The 14 assists were also the third-most in a single season in UNCG history. The Santa Rosa, Calif., midfielder also turned in her first career multi-goal game this season with a pair against Georgia Southern on Oct. 1 and was named to the Under Armour Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Padgett, a sophomore forward from Orange Park, Fla., earned all-region recognition for the second straight year after taking third-team honors as a freshman. This year, she was UNCG's second-leading scorer with 25 points on the season, sharing the team lead with 10 goals. She also had five assists, giving her career highs in points, goals and assists. The 2009 SoCon Co-Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, Padgett was the SoCon Player of the Week on Oct. 5 and was also named to the Under Armour Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Partenheimer picked up her first career all-region honor after turning in career highs with seven goals, four assists and 18 points. A team captain, Partenheimer played central midfield for the Spartans, helping an offense that led the SoCon in scoring and a defense that led the league in shutouts and goals against average. The Apex, N.C., native earned SoCon Championship All-Tournament honors, assisting on the game-winning goal in the title game. She also scored the game-winner in UNCG's 2-1 win over then-No. 10 Wake Forest on Aug. 23.
As a whole, UNCG went 19-2-1 overall and 11-0-0 in the Southern Conference this season, setting numerous school records along the way. The Spartans matched the school record for wins (originally set by the 1997 squad, which went 19-6-0) and had the fewest losses in school history, surpassing the record set in 2008 when UNCG went 16-4-3.
The Spartans also rattled off a school-record 16-game winning streak after its lone regular-season loss, the second-longest streak in the nation entering the NCAA tournament. UNCG won its fifth straight SoCon regular-season title, its seventh SoCon tournament title, made its ninth NCAA tournament appearance and earned a top-10 national ranking for the first time since 1996.
NSCAA/Performance Subaru All-Southeast Region
First Team
Pos. Name Year School
K Chantel Jones Jr. Virginia
D Crystal Dunn Fr. North Carolina
D Colette Namour Sr Samford
D Toni Pressley Jr. Florida State
M Amanda DaCosta Jr Florida State
M Sinead Farrelly Sr. Virginia
M Meghan Klingenberg Sr. North Carolina
M Kristie Mewis So. Boston College
F Vicki DiMartino So Boston College
F Kealia Ohai Fr. North Carolina
F Jasyme Spencer Jr Maryland
F Katie Stengel Fr. Wake Forest
Second Team
Pos. Name Year School
K Kelsey Kearney Jr. UNCG
D Devon Dowell Sr. Jacksonville
D Caitlin McDowell Sr Maryland
D Alyssa Pember Jr. Boston College
M Cat Barnekow Jr. UNCG
M Amber Brooks So. North Carolina
M Bianca D'Agostino Sr. Wake Forest
F Mariana Garcia Fr. The Citadel
F Courtney Jones Jr. North Carolina
F Meghan Lenczyk Sr. Virginia
F Tabitha Padgett So. UNCG
Third Team
Pos. Name Year School
K Jillian Mastroianni Jr. Boston College
F Martha Hall Sr Furman
F Marky Boyce Sr Charleston Southern
F Marika Gray Sr. Virginia Tech
M Liz Fink Jr. Jacksonville
M Tori Huster Jr Florida State
M Mollie Pathman Fr. Duke
M Domenica Hodak So. Maryland
M Jenn Partenheimer Sr. UNCG
D Jaclyn Logue So. Wake Forest
D Ashley Rape So. Duke
- UNCG -