Soccer player Kayla Lambert (Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) and basketball player Shy Ely (Indianapolis, Ind./Speedway) have been selected as the University of Evansville’s most outstanding athletes in 2008-09, no surprise since they were also two of the best in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Lambert today received the Ida M. Stieler Award as UE’s top female athlete, and Ely received the William V. Slyker Award as the most outstanding male athlete. The two were chosen in a vote by the University of Evansville coaching staff.

Lambert was the 2008 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and MVC Tournament Most Valuable Player. She led the 13-5-2 Purple Aces to the MVC regular season co-championship, MVC Tournament championship, and to the Aces’ first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001. She set the all-time MVC scoring record with 51 goals and 30 assists for 132 career points, six more than the previous record. She was the MVC scoring leader again in 2008 with 14 goals and eight assists for 36 points. Lambert was also the first Academic All-America in UE women’s soccer history, earning a third team selection on the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-America Women’s Soccer Team. In addition, she became the first Evansville player to be selected for the NSCAA/adidas all-region team four years in a row.

Ely just missed becoming the second Evansville athlete chosen as an MVC Player of the Year, finishing second in voting to Booker Woodfox of league champion Creighton. Ely led the league in scoring by more than a point per game at 18.9, and participated in the Chicago Bulls’ summer camp in June. Ely led the 17-14 Purple Aces to their best winning percentage since 2000, and to their first post-season appearance since 1999. The Aces were selected for the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Post-Season Tournament. Ely is the first Evansville player since 1992 to lead the league in scoring, and the first since 1993 to earn a place on the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District Team. The only other first team all-district players in Evansville's Division I history are Scott Haffner in 1989 and Parrish Casebier in 1993. Ely finished 14th in UE career scoring with 1,423 points.

The Slyker Award was presented each year from 1954 through 1984, then reinstated in 1986. The Stieler Award has been presented each year since 1986. The Slyker and Stieler awards are given primarily on the basis of athletic achievement, with leadership and scholarship also part of the criteria. Lambert is the first soccer player to receive the Stieler Award since Krissy Meek in 2000, and Ely is the first basketball player to win the Slyker Award since Marcus Wilson in 1999. Both Lambert and Ely graduated in May.