Women's soccer players take home SLIAC hardware
Coming of their first conference championship in school history, eight members of the Fontbonne University women's soccer team were recently honored with all-conference accolades.
Fontbonne juniors Erica Kaiping, Ava Johnson and Kelly Lange were all named to the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) First Team All-Conference. Kaiping led the Griffins in goals and points this season with nine goals and one assist for 19 points. Johnson, who was also named to the SLIAC All-Sportsmanship Team, helped anchored a defense that allowed one goal during a seven-game conference strectch. Lange, who was also named to the SLIAC All-Tournament Team, finished the year with five goals and four assists for 14 points. She tied for the team lead in assists.
Fontbonne senior goalkeeper Kaniz Abbas and freshman Paige Pfankuch were selected to the SLIAC Second Team All-Conference. Abbas posted a .77 goals against average in conference play this season. In addition to helping anchor the Griffins stingy defense, Pfankuch recorded four assists this season to tie for the team lead.
Fontbonne seniors Kim Carter, Julia Conroy and Anna Hotop all received Honorable Mention All-Conference honors. Carter finished second on the team in points with seven goals and three assists for 17 points. Carter also received SLIAC All-Tournament honors. Conroy and Hotop served as the Griffins defensive midfielders with Julia recording two goals and Anna one.
Fontbonne finished the season with a 10-9 overall record and a 7-1 SLIAC record. The Griffins finished in a three-way tie for first place giving them their first SLIAC championship in school history.
In just his second year as head coach, Brian Hoener earned SLIAC Coach of the Year honors after leading the Griffins to the SLIAC title. His squad's seven wins in conference play are the program's third highest total ever and the highest total in a season with a single, round-robin schedule. Coach Hoener becomes the first coach in SLIAC history to lead both a men's program and a women's program to the SLIAC title. He is only the second coach in SLIAC history to be named SLIAC Coach of the Year for men and women's soccer.