Jan. 5, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Samford University's Crystal Royall added to her long list of postseason accolades on Wednesday as the Bulldogs' senior goalkeeper became the first player in school history to earn NSCAA Third-Team Academic All-America honors.

"This is a huge accomplishment for Crystal and we're extremely proud of what she has been able to achieve here at Samford," said head coach Todd Yelton. "She really symbolizes what we want from our players and she has been able to excel both in the classroom and on the field."

Royall, who became the first player in Ohio Valley Conference history to be named both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in 2004, was one of 12 people listed on the NSCAA's third team on Wednesday. She is the first Samford player to earn All-America honors.

"This is a big thing for our program, because she is the first All-American that we've ever had," Yelton said. "That is where we want to get to with this program. We want to have our players earn these types of honors on a regular basis. It's a great award for her, but it's also a tremendous statement of where our soccer program is heading."

The Bulldogs' senior from Richmond, Va., finished her illustrious four-year career with a stellar 3.67 grade point average in physical education and is Samford's all-time leader in both goals against average and shutouts.

During the 2004 season, Royall registered a conference-best seven shutouts and limited her opponents to a stingy 0.64 goals against average. She only allowed 11 goals on the season and compiled an impressive .867 save percentage.

"When you look at the list of All-Americans, it's a pretty awesome list and it's a huge honor for Crystal to be a part of that group," said Yelton. "I can't say enough good things about her from that standpoint. She's had a great career for us and we are definitely going to miss her being back there in goal."

Headlining the list of NSCAA Academic All-Americans was a pair of defensive players from newly-crowned Division I national champion Notre Dame in junior goalkeeper Erika Bohn and senior defender Gudron Gunnarsdottir. Fighting Irish midfielder Annie Schefter also was selected, earning a spot on the third team.

A total of eight teams had multiple representatives, led by Notre Dame's three. Clemson, Portland, Saint Louis, Seattle Pacific, Texas, Truman State and West Virginia also finished with two players chosen. All 38 players selected to the team will be invited to attend the NSCAA All-America Luncheon, to be held Saturday, Jan. 15, 2005, in conjunction with the 2005 NSCAA Convention in Baltimore, Md.

The Samford University soccer team finished the 2004 campaign with a 10-7-1 overall record and earned its second-straight OVC regular-season championship.

2004 NSCAA/adidas Women's College Scholar All-America Team

First Team
G, Erika Bohn, Jr., Notre Dame, Rutland, Vt., Design, 3.63
D, Gudrun Gunnarsdottir, Sr., Notre Dame, Seltjarnames, Iceland, Finance, 3.31
D, Gillian Hatch*, Sr., Virginia, Whitefish Bay, Wis., Psychology, 3.80
D, Hayley Hunt, Jr., Stanford, San Marino, Calif., Human Biology, 3.66
D, Briana McCarty*, Sr., UAB, Lawrenceville, Ga., Psychology, 3.93
M, Stephanie Freeman, Sr., Florida, Clearwater, Fla., Health Science Education, 3.37
M, Anna Sonderman, Sr., Truman State, Manchester, Mo., Exercise Science, 3.74
M, Colleen Wirtz, Jr., Denison, Westerville, Ohio, Biology, 3.75
F, Josephine Coiro, Sr., Adelphi, West Babylon, N.Y., Physical Education, 3.39
F, Megan Kakadelas*, Sr., Santa Clara, Carlsbad, Calif., Accounting, 3.80
F, Laura Kane, Sr., West Virginia, Morgantown, W.Va., Physical Education, 3.78
F, Christine Sinclair, Jr., Portland, Burnaby, British Columbia, Life Science, 3.68

Second Team,
G, Jennifer Hull, Sr., Seattle Pacific, Eugene, Ore., Latin Am. Studies/Spanish, 3.58
D, Kayla Birdwell, Jr., Trinity, San Antonio, Texas, Marketing/Business Admin., 3.41
D, Michelle Everson, Jr., Seattle Pacific, Tacoma, Wash., Biology, 3.32
D, Kristen Rogers*, Sr., Portland, Bonsall, Calif., History, 3.74
D, Ashley Weimer, Sr., West Virginia, North Huntingdon, Pa., Nursing, 3.92
M, Allison Blagriff, Sr., Central Florida, Melbourne, Fla., General Business BSBA, 3.37
M, Allison Graham, Jr., Clemson, Fayetteville, Ga., Parks, Recreation and Tourism, 3.40
M, Manya Makoski, Jr., Arizona State, Trumbull, Conn., Journalism, 3.74
F, Katy Cross, Sr., Pennsylvania, Claremont, Calif., Psychology, 3.95
F, Tina Frimpong, Sr., Washington, Vancouver, Wash., Economics, 3.32
F, Sara Murray*, Sr., Truman State, Eden Prairie, Minn., Pre Medicine, 3.88
F, Jamie Perry, Sr., Saint Louis, Fenton, Mo., Communications, 3.90
F, Kelly Wilson*, Sr., Texas, Austin, Texas, Kinesiology, 3.86

Third Team
G, Sarah Coughlin, Sr., George Mason, Hawthorne, N.Y., Mathematics, 3.31
G, Crystal Royall, Sr., Samford, Richmond, Va., Physical Education, 3.67
D, Stephanie Gulisao, Sr., Cent. Oklahoma, Claremore, Okla., Exercise & Fitness, 3.43
D, Christen Karniski, Jr., Illinois, Iowa City, Iowa, English, 3.94
D, Kara Kornfeld, Sr., Saint Louis, St. Louis, Mo., Elementary Education, 3.98
D, Danielle Smith, Sr., Lock Haven, Johnson, N.Y., Secondary Education/Biology, 3.40
D, Stefanie Strauss, Sr., Wisconsin-Parkside, Racine, Wis., Pre Medicine, 3.97
M, Melanie Kasparek, Jr., Rhode Island, Trumbull, Conn., Psychology, 3.97
M, Paige Ledford, Sr., Clemson, Ooltewah, Tenn., Mechanical Engineering, 3.69
M, Annie Schefter, Jr., Notre Dame, Yakima, Wash., Pre-Studies/Psychology, 3.73
F, Emily Bulach, Jr., Wilmington College, Oxford, Ohio, Education, 3.55
F, Kelly McDonald*, Sr., Texas, Austin, Texas, Biology (BA) - Pre-Med, 3.44
F, Katie Riley, Jr., Francis Marion, Hampstead, Md., Biology, 3.73

* indicates repeat selection