By Staff
The Ferris State University women's soccer program has been recognized by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) as a Team Academic Award recipient for the 2002-03 academic year in an announcement made by the NSCAA.
The Bulldogs were among 340 intercollegiate men's and women's soccer programs posting a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher for the 2002-03 term, thereby earning the NSCAA award. The awards will be presented at the College Coaches Luncheon on Thursday as part of the 57th annual NSCAA Convention, which will be held Wednesday through Saturday in Charlotte, N.C.
Seventy-four men's four-year programs and 266 women's teams were recognized, including 45 schools having multiple teams listed. Ferris, which posted a 3.31 cumulative grade point average for the 2002-03 term, recorded a 7-10-3 overall record under former head coach Pete Watkins during the fall 2002 campaign. Ashland University (3.32 gpa) was the only other Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) school selected in the women's category.
Ferris State concluded the 2003 campaign with an 11-5-1 overall mark under Eging, which represented the program's best performance in its five-year history and included a fourth-place 5-3 GLIAC finish. The Bulldogs, who won eight of their final 11 outings this season, opened the year with a school record three consecutive wins and compiled a program-best 5-2-1 road mark in 2003. FSU also set school single-season records for most goals (40), assists (36) and points (116) this campaign.
The Bulldogs also had 11 individuals attain 2003 GLIAC Women's Soccer All-Academic Team recognition. They included seniors Mandy Cafmeyer (Greenville), Julia Hitchingham (Owosso), Sara Ideran (Bloomington, Ill./Normal), Gayle Lukes (Kokomo, Ind./Western), Emily Rogers (Traverse City/Central), along with sophomores Kristin Aukeman (Hudsonville/Unity Christian), Britta Dahlberg (Port Huron/Northern), Andrea Moma (Middleville/Wayland Union), Lisa O'Brian (Kalamazoo/Loy Norrix), Lindsey Pawloski (Royal Oak/Kimball) and Erica Schuelke (Niles).