OMAHA, Neb. -- The annual Missouri Valley Conference Women's Soccer Tournament Banquet took an emotional turn tonight with the appearance of University of Evansville sophomore soccer player Abby Guerra, who was critically injured in a traffic accident July 18. Guerra was presented with the Missouri Valley Conference Most Courageous Award by MVC officials, her teammates, and UE head coach Krista McKendree.
Guerra and four friends were returning home to Arizona from an outing at Disneyland in southern California on July 18. A tire blew out on their vehicle, it rolled over, and two of Guerra's friends were killed. In fact, it was first believed that Guerra was one of those who had died. Her life remained in jeopardy for several days. Many medical procedures followed, but last month, three months following the accident, she was able to go back to her home in Glendale, Arizona for the first time. Today is the first time that Guerra has seen her Evansville teammates, many of whom were at her bedside in the days following the accident.
Guerra was a starting midfielder for the Aces as a freshman in 2009, and was fourth on the team in goals scored (2) and total points (5).
Guerra was also able to cheer on four teammates Thursday night who received all-Missouri Valley Conference awards, including MVC Freshman of the Year Breanna Beine. Beine and fellow freshman Vanessa Legault-Cordisco were chosen first team all-MVC. Junior Sam Conrad and freshman Kaitlin Robinett earned Honorable Mention All-MVC honors, and Legault-Cordisco, Beine and Robinett were chosen for the MVC All-Freshman Team. Eleven players were chosen for both the all-conference first team and all-freshman team.
Beine is Evansville's leading scorer with seven goals and two assists for 16 points. She ranks third in the league in goals. Legault-Cordisco has one goal and a team-high six assists this season. She moved from forward to defense last month, but still ranks second in the league in assists. Robinett is Evansville's second leading scorer with three goals and three assists for nine points, and Conrad is the top defensive player on a squad that has allowed only four goals in the last five matches.
Creighton's Brittney Neumann was named the 2010 Missouri Valley Conference Most Valuable Player. The 2009 Freshman of the Year and two-time first-team all-MVC pick is the league's top scorer with 23 points, including nine goals and three game-winning tallies. Evansville (6-11-1, 2-4-0) is the number five seed in the State Farm MVC Tournament, and plays host and number one seed Creighton (13-3-2, 5-1-0) Friday at 6:00 in the semifinal round. Number two Missouri State plays number three Illinois State in the other semifinal match. The championship is Sunday at 2:05, and will be televised live by Fox Sports Net.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Brittney Neumann, Creighton
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jordan Reppell, Missouri State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Breanna Beine, Evansville
MVC FAIR PLAY AWARD: Evansville (fewest cards in conference play)
COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR: Creighton
FIRST TEAM
Name School Pos. Yr. Hometown (High School)
^Jessica Teahan Missouri State GK Jr. Lenexa, Kan. (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Natalie McCabe Illinois State D Jr. London, Ontario (A.B. Lucas Secondary School)
Vanessa Legault-Cordisco Evansville D Fr. St. Therese, Quebec / Shattuck St. Mary's (MN)
#Jordan Reppell Missouri State D Sr. St. Louis, Mo. (St. Joseph's Academy)
Claire Zach Creighton D Sr. Omaha, Neb. (Marian)
^Jessica Carlson Illinois State MF Jr. Darien, Ill. (Hinsdale South)
Alison Gasparovich Indiana State MF Jr. Overland Park, Kan. (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Laura Moklestad Drake MF So. Des Moines, Iowa (Roosevelt)
Breanna Beine Evansville F Fr. St. Peters, Mo. (Francis Howell Central)
^Brittney Neumann Creighton F So. Omaha, Neb. (Millard North)
Andrea Zuniga Creighton F Jr. Omaha, Neb. (Nebraska) (Burke)
#Three-Time First-Team Selection; ^Two-Time First-Team Selection
SECOND TEAM
Name School Pos. Yr. Hometown (High School)
Kalena Litch Drake GK Fr. Plymouth, Minn. (Wayzata)
Casey Allbright Indiana State D So. Bloomington, Ind. (Bloomington South)
Megan Fisher Drake D Fr. Ankeny, Iowa (Ankeny)
Nia Williams Missouri State D So. Roeland Park, Kan. (St. James Academy)
Grace Cross Missouri State MF So. Lee's Summit, Mo. (Lee's Summit North High)
Seyma Erenli Indiana State MF Jr. Melbourne, Australia (Royal Melbourne Inst. of Tech.)
Kiki McClellan UNI MF So. Aurora, Ill. (Waubonsie Valley)
Emily Orbell Creighton MF Sr. White Bear Lake, Minn. (White Bear Lake)
Lauren Cingoranelli Creighton F Fr. Aurora, Colo. (Grandview)
Paige Dusek Drake F Fr. St. Charles, Ill. (St. Charles North)
Alyssa Schulz Illinois State F Sr. Maple Grove, Minn. (Maple Grove)
HONORABLE MENTION: GK Emily Lahay, Indiana State; GK Alicia Montgomery, Creighton; D Sam Conrad, Evansville; D Sam Copley, UNI; D Bailey Dorrington, Drake; MF Erin Gunther, Creighton; MF Allie Newsom, Illinois State; MF Anna Stinson, Illinois State; MF Ali Walsh, Drake; F Chelsie Hochstedler, UNI; F Kaitlin Robinett, Evansville; F Brooke Williams, Missouri State
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Name School Pos. Hometown (High School)
Breanna Beine Evansville F St. Peters, Mo. (Francis Howell Central)
Lauren Cingoranelli Creighton F Aurora, Colo. (Grandview)
Sam Copley UNI D Woodward, Iowa (Dallas Center-Grimes)
Paige Dusek Drake F St. Charles, Ill. (St. Charles North)
Megan Fisher Drake D Ankeny, Iowa (Ankeny)
Vanessa Legault-Cordisco Evansville D St. Therese, Quebec / Shattuck St. Mary's (Minn.)
Kalena Litch Drake GK Plymouth, Minn. (Wayzata)
Allie Newsom Illinois State MF Manteno, Ill. (Manteno)
Kaitlin Robinett Evansville F New Albany, Ind. (New Albany)
Anna Stinson Illinois State MF Kalamazoo, Mich. (Portage Northern)
Brooke Williams Missouri State F Kansas City, Mo. (Liberty High)
