Five Women's Soccer Players Earn All-Conference Honors
11/8/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 8, 2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Five Michigan State women's soccer players were honored for their efforts this season by the Big Ten Conference, Friday, as Abby Shepherd (So., Milford), Andrea Sied (Jr., Livonia), Stacy Heller (Jr., Madison, Wis.) and Tiffany Laskowski (Jr., Troy) all earned spots on the 2002 All-Big Ten Teams. Emma Harris (Fr., Portage) was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team. Shepherd, Sied and Heller all earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors, while Laskowski nabbed a spot on the second team.
Michigan State and Penn State led the conference with three first-team honorees. Prior to this season, just three Spartans had earned first-team all-conference honors in the history of the program.
"I am very proud of each one of these individuals," said MSU head coach Tom Saxton. "Each woman is very deserving of her honor. It's also a great sign for the state of Michigan State soccer. This is the most first-team honorees we've ever had. I told the team that individual recognition is a sign of great team play. After last night's loss, we were a little down, but this comes as a great shot in the arm."
Shepherd started all 20 games for the Green and White this season after transferring from Connecticut. She registered four goals and four assists for 12 points from her midfield position in 2002.
"I've never really been concerned with individual honors," said Shepherd. "Soccer is a team sport. So for me to be honored, it's an honor for the team and says a lot about the successful season we've had."
A 2001 second-team honoree, Sied anchored the Spartans' stifling defense all season. She appeared in all 20 games, scoring four goals, including two game-winners, and chipped in two assists. She was perfect on penalty kicks this season, going two-for-two.
"Our team did pretty well this year, and we were hoping that would result in some individuals being honored," said Sied. "My award is a tribute to my teammates."
Heller had a standout year in net for State, posting seven shutouts in 19 starts. She now has 15.5 shutouts for her career-just one shy of the MSU career leader, Sara Kloosterman. She had a season-high 14 stops in a 3-2 win over Ohio State, October 4.
"I didn't see this coming at all," said Heller. "The defense had a great year in front of me and a lot of their efforts went unrecognized. I share this individual honor with my teammates, because they make my job a lot easier."
Laskowski led the Spartans in scoring in 2002, recording 23 points. Her nine goals were the most by any Spartan since 1998. More impressively, her 23 points are the most by a MSU player since 1994. Five of her nine goals were game winners. She also earned second-team all-conference honors as a sophomore.
Harris started all 20 games as a freshman forward, scoring five goals and leading the team with six assists. Three of her five goals came in Big Ten competition.
Michigan State finished the season with a 12-6-2 record, including a 5-3-2 mark in Big Ten action. The Spartans lost to Wisconsin, 1-0, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, and will learn on Monday, Nov. 11, if they will advance to the 64-team NCAA Tournament.
