FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State Women’s Soccer had 11 players named All-MIAA on Tuesday (Nov. 2) for the 2016 season. Head coach Craig Shaw was named MIAA Coach of the Year and senior Hannah Smith was named the MIAA Co-Defender of the Year. The Tigers have three first-team, four second-team, one third-team, and three honorable mention selections.
Earning first team honors are senior midfielder Hannah Smith, junior forward Kelsey Steffens, and junior defender Baylie Schmitz.
A defensive midfielder, Smith shares the MIAA Defender of the Year honor with Emily Eldridge of Central Missouri. She helped the Tigers to 11 shutouts this year while scoring eight points with three goals and two assists. Smith is now a three-time All-MIAA selection, adding this year’s first team selection to a pair of second team selections in each of the past two seasons.
Steffens is among the MIAA leaders in points, currently with a team-best 17 on the season with six goals and five assists. She scored three of her six goals in the final four matches of the regular season and has two game winners so far this year. She does a good job putting the ball on net, holding a shots on goal percentage of .614. Steffens is also a three-time All-MIAA selection after third team honors as a freshman and second team honors last year.
Schmitz earns the second All-MIAA honor of her career, tabbed first team this year after an honorable mention selection last season. Schmitz is one of the leaders on a defensive line allowing a minuscule 0.37 goals against average with 11 shutouts this year. She has played 1,406 minutes on the pitch this year.
Earning second-team selections this year are junior midfielder Eden Stoddard, junior forward Thalya Dwyer, sophomore defender Taryn Schnell, and sophomore goalkeeper Abbie Flax.
Stoddard and Dwyer are junior college transfers that have made a huge impact on the Tiger offensive attack this year. They are tied for the team lead in goals, each with seven. Dwyer also has two assists, which gives her 16 points, while Stoddard has one assist and 15 points. Stoddard, Dwyer, and first-team selection Steffens own 45 percent of the team’s points. Stoddard and Dwyer rank sixth in the MIAA in goals scored. Dwyer has been nearly perfect in shots on goal efficiency for the season, putting 11 of her 12 total shots for the season on net. Stoddard has a .615 shots on goal percentage. Stoddard has a team-best four game-winning goals, while Dwyer has one.
A sophomore, Schnell has also been a part of the solid defensive line for the Tigers that has produced 11 shutouts. She has logged 1,310 minutes on the pitch this season. The second-team selection is the first All-MIAA honor of Schnell’s career.
Flax has been Fort Hays State’s goalkeeper in 16 of 18 regular season contests, putting together a record of 12-3-1 so far in her sophomore campaign. Her .898 save percentage ranks sixth in the nation and her 0.358 goals against average ranks seventh nationally. In the conference, only first team selection Ana Dilkes of Central Missouri is better as she is the national leader in both categories.
Senior defender CheyAnn Queener, the team’s leader in minutes played with 1,687, earns the second All-MIAA selection of her two-year career at FHSU. She earns third team honors this year after a second team nod last year. She has been vital to FHSU producing 11 shutouts this season and holding teams to just 3.5 shots on goal per match. Overall for the year, she has helped FHSU limit opponents to just 7.5 shots per match overall.
Honorable mention selections this year include a trio of midfielders, including seniors Hannah Jurgens and Dani Harris, and junior Jasmine Beaulieu. Harris is now a three-time All-MIAA selection after third team honors in 2013 and another honorable mention nod in 2012. She ranks fifth on the team in points with eight, contributing three goals and two assists this year. Beaulieu is now a two-time All-MIAA selection, earning honorable mention honors last year as well. She is fourth on the team in points with 10, producing two goals and a team-best six assists. This is the first All-MIAA selection for Jurgens, who has five points for the year with two goals and an assist.
Head coach Craig Shaw earned his first MIAA Coach of the Year honor. With the team picked fourth in the conference coaches preseason poll, Fort Hays State exceeded expectations by tying the preseason favorite Central Missouri for the regular season crown. He guided the team to its first-ever regular season conference championship, adding it to a conference tournament championship the program produced in 2012 under his guidance. The Tigers are in good position to make their program’s second appearance in the NCAA Tournament heading into the MIAA Tournament. FHSU has already matched its school record for wins in a season.