VALLEY RELEASE

ST. LOUIS – A pair of University of Evansville women’s soccer players, junior Stephanie Thompson and senior Danielle Langness, were named to Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete teams in an announcement by the league office Monday afternoon.
 
Thompson earned a spot on the MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team, as she tied for the team lead with 12 points this season, scoring five goals and dishing out a pair of assists.  The Evansville, Ind., native was named to the All-MVC First Team and earned a spot on the Capital One Academic All-District V Second Team for her efforts both on the pitch and in the classroom.  The junior midfielder scored a goal in four of UE’s final four matches, including Evansville’s lone goal in the MVC Tournament semifinal.  This year’s honor marks the second-straight MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team selection for Thompson, as the exercise science major possesses a perfect 4.0 grade-point average (GPA) and was just one of two players on the MVC Scholar-Athlete teams with a 4.0 mark.
 
Langness, who was recognized with MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention accolades, was a key defender on Evansville’s back line that posted six shutouts this season and held opponents to a 1.21 goals against average.  The St. Charles, Mo., native helped UE’s back line allow just two goals and record a 0.32 goals against average in conference matches.  Langness also fired five shots, putting three of them on goal on the offensive side of the ball.  The senior defender is an exercise science major and owns a 3.71 GPA.
 
As a team, Evansville finished the 2012 campaign with a 5-8-3 record, including a 4-1-1 mark in Valley matches on its way to the MVC regular-season championship.
 
A total of 29 student-athletes were nominated for the Valley’s scholar-athlete team.  The criteria for the honor parallels the CoSIDA standards for Capital One Academic All-America voting.  Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA.  Also, students must have participated in at least 75 percent of the regular-season matches or the MVC Championship.  Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution and must have completed at least one full academic year at their institution.  Sports Information Directors at MVC institutions voted for the team.