Ball State University Athletics
Soccer Highlights MAC Postseason Honors
November 02, 2006 | Soccer
MUNCIE, Ind. ? The Ball State soccer team, fresh off of its first ever Mid-American Conference regular season championship, highlighted the postseason conference awards that were announced on Thursday. The Cardinals led the league with four First Team All-MAC recipients while first-year head coach Michelle Salmon picked up Coach of the Year honors.
Seniors Amy Holst, Vandi Ogden and Sarah Maxwell as well as sophomore Emily Rein were tabbed for First Team accolades by the league coaches. The four First Team selections were the most by any team this season and the most in the eight-year history of BSU soccer.
"Being able to have four players on the All-MAC First Team is a testament to the great year that our team had," Salmon said. "All four of these players are very deserving of this honor. It is fitting that we have three seniors named to the team because they provided us great leadership throughout the year and took Ball State soccer to a championship level."
Holst, a native Shawnee Mission, Kan., was tied for the team lead in goals with nine as a central midfielder. Holst became just the third Cardinal all-time to record a hat trick as she accomplished the feat against MAC foe Akron. She finished second on the team in game-winning goals, including the game-winning goal against regionally ranked Northwestern.
Ogden, a midfielder from Fishers, Ind., controlled the middle of the field for the Cardinals all season long. She finished her senior campaign fourth on the team in scoring with 12 points as she tallied four goals and added four assists. Her four assists were tied for second most on the team.
Maxwell, a native of Kalamazoo, Mich., spearheaded the Cardinal defense that allowed just 22 goals in 20 games this season and just 11 goals in conference action. She guided the Cardinals to a MAC-best seven shutouts on the season. She finished her career having played in all 80 games, including 79 career starts.
Rein, a forward from Cincinnati, Ohio, finished second in the MAC and led the team in scoring with 22 points. She was tied for the team lead with nine goals and added four assists. She led the team and was second in the conference with four game-winning goals, including the clinchers against Bowling Green and Toledo in the same weekend.
"All four of these players played an integral part in bringing home our first ever MAC championship," Salmon said. "This is a great honor for not just those four players, but for the entire Ball State soccer program."
Salmon also picked up MAC Coach of the Year honors as she led the Cardinals to a
"It is nice to be recognized by my peers but this is definitely a team award," Salmon added. "Our players bought into our system from day one and we had a team concept that made this year a year to remember for the Cardinal soccer program."
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