University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Women’s Soccer Earns Program’s First-Ever Sportsmanship Award
12.19.2018 | Women's Soccer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville women's soccer team earned the 2018 Big South Women's Soccer Sportsmanship Award.
The league office made the official announcement on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2018. The UNC Asheville men's soccer team also received the 2018 Big South Men's Soccer Sportsmanship Award.
"On behalf of the team, I'm extremely proud to earn this award from the Big South Conference. As a young group this season, we believed in more than just our results. Our demeanor and attitude around each other and our opponents sometimes speaks more about us than the number of wins and losses," said head coach Lindsay Vera. "Our approach to every game and our response to every situation was certainly in our control, and these were big strengths of the players this year. These student-athletes have a great understanding of the standards and expectations here at UNC Asheville, and I'm happy to see them recognized for their professionalism throughout the fall."
The women's soccer team also had three individuals earn four postseason awards.
Senior defender Ellie Stone headlined the postseason accolades, as the Asheville, N.C. native earned Big South Second-Team and North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) All-State Second Team honors.
Rookie goalkeeper Courtney O'Malley was named to the Big South All-Freshman Team after starting in 11 of the 16 games last year. She logged over 1,000 minutes and earned a 1.24 goals against average.
The final Bulldog to earn a postseason award was Justine James, as the recent Bulldog graduate was named to the Big South All-Academic Team. James played in all 16 games and finished her collegiate career with a 3.97 grade-point average.
UNC Asheville women's soccer also recently received the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award. The men's team was also awarded with the same academic award, as UNC Asheville was one of only 191 schools with both their men's and women's programs being honored.
