Nov. 3, 2005

CHARLESTON, Ill. - After winning its third-straight Ohio Valley Conference championship this season, the Samford University soccer team continued to receive a number of end-of-the-season honors on Thursday as seven Bulldogs were named All-OVC and Rebecca Bohler was named the player of the year.

"The great thing about this team is that they are all unselfish and they are not overly concerned about individual awards," said Samford head coach Todd Yelton. "I do think that it is great to be honored by the other teams in the conference with these awards and this is the second year in a row that we've had the player of the year."

Head coach Todd Yelton earned his second OVC Coach of the Year honor in three seasons on Thursday. The Bulldogs' skipper led his team to a third-consecutive conference regular-season title.

Samford heads into the postseason with a school-record 14-3-2 overall record and as the top-seeded team in the 2005 O'Reilly OVC Tournament. In 2003, the Bulldogs' inaugural season in the OVC, Yelton led Samford to a 12-4-5 mark and a 7-1 record in conference play. He was named the OVC Coach of the Year for his efforts.

"This award is much more a reflection of our players than anything that I have done," Yelton said. "I've been in this business long enough to know that coaches coach and players play and our abilities to impact the game are done Monday through Thursday. The players are the ones that have to step on the field and win the games."

Samford's Bohler was named the 2005 OVC Player of the Year on Thursday, as she became the second-straight Bulldog to earn the league's top honor.

Last season, goalkeeper Crystal Royall received the award en route to becoming the first player to sweep both Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Bohler, the Bulldogs' speedy forward, leads the conference in assists with 11 and is ranked among the top-five players in the league in both points (19) and points per game (1.00).

"I think that Rebecca is having a great year and she is definitely deserving of the honor," said Yelton. "We have a lot of talented players on this team and I'm glad to seem them receive these awards."

Samford had seven players earn All-OVC honors on Thursday, with two Bulldogs receiving first-team accolades and three notching second-team awards. Samford also had a pair of freshmen named to the all-newcomer team.

The Bulldogs' Heather Birdsell and Bohler were each named to the OVC's First Team on Thursday.

Birdsell, Samford's sophomore midfielder from Plano, Texas, led the Bulldogs in both goals scored (7) and points (20) this season and recorded a key two-goal performance against Austin Peay on Oct. 17.

Samford's Kim Matthews headlined the OVC's second team on Thursday as the Bulldogs' junior midfielder from Colleyville, Texas, received her third-consecutive All-OVC honor. This season, she's helped lead Samford's offensive attack and is currently ranked third on the team in goals (5), assists (5) and points (15).

Samford defenders Sharon Young and Rebecca Mock were also named to the OVC's second team on Thursday.

Young, a junior from Powder Springs, Ga., earned her third-straight all-conference honor, while Mock, who was forced to miss last season due to an injury, notched her first All-OVC accolade. Mock is a native of Marietta, Ga.

Samford true freshmen Cayley Winters and Lauren Faubion were named to the All-Newcomer Team.

Winters, the Bulldogs' highly-touted goalkeeper from Littleton, Colo., leads the team with four shutouts this season and owns a 9-2 record in goal. Faubion, who is the reigning OVC Offensive Player of the Week, is ranked second on the team in goals with six.

Southeast Missouri's Lindsay Pickering was named the OVC's Defensive Player of the Year, while Rebekah Clay of Murray State earned Freshman of the Year honors.

The Samford University soccer team will continue its quest for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Friday as the Bulldogs face off against the Murray State Racers at 12:30 p.m., in the semifinal round of the OVC Tournament.

2005 Ohio Valley Conference
Women's Soccer Annual Awards

PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Rebecca Bohler, F, Samford
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Lindsay Pickering, GK, Southeast Missouri
COACH OF THE YEAR - Todd Yelton, Samford
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR - Rebekah Clay, F, Murray State

FIRST TEAM
GK: Sarah Broadbent, Sr., Austin Peay
GK: Lindsay Pickering, Jr., Southeast Missouri
D: LeeAnn Langsfeld, Sr., Eastern Illinois
D: Erin Hartman, Sr. Southeast Missouri
D: Laura Oppegard, Jr., Murray State
MF: Heather Birdsell, So., Samford
MF: Lisa Schweppe, Sr., Southeast Missouri
MF: Sharyne Connell, Sr., Eastern Illinois
F: Rebecca Bohler, So., Samford
F: Krista Llewllyn, Fr., Murray State
F: Joni Simmons, Jr., Tennessee Tech
F: Kelly Busch, Fr., Morehead State

SECOND TEAM
GK: Leslie King, Fr., Morehead State
GK: Christina Graul, Jr., Eastern Kentucky
D: Tara Tidwell, Jr. Austin Peay
D: Rebecca Mock, So., Samford
D: Sharon Young, Jr., Samford
MF: Katie Behrens, So., Tennessee-Martin
MF: Kim Matthews, Jr., Samford
MF: Kathleen Hayes, So., Eastern Illinois
F: Rebekah Clay, Fr., Murray State
F: Dani Myrick, Sr., Tennessee-Martin
F: Ashley Beck, Fr., Austin Peay