Women’s Soccer Earns Season’s End Honors
Sophomore Jordan Howell and junior Nardia Moore have been selected to the Soccer Buzz All-Southeast Region team after leading Western Carolina to the top of the Southern Conference. Howell was named to the publication’s second team, while Moore earned third team honors. Howell (Southern Pines, N.C./Pinecrest) led WCU and the SoCon in points with 37 during the 2001 season. The first team All-SoCon performer recorded a team-high 14 goals, seven of which were game-winners, and tied for the team lead with nine assists. Moore (Greer, S.C./Riverside) ranked seventh in the league in scoring to earn her second All-SoCon honor. She ended the season with nine goals and eight assists for 26 total points. She averaged 1.19 points per game during the 2001 season. As a freshman, Moore was also honored by Soccer Buzz, picking up Freshman of the Year for first year programs. “It is great to see Jordan (Howell) and Nardia (Moore) get the recognition that they deserve,” said WCU head coach Debbie Hensley. “This is just a reflection of the great season we had and of our team as a whole.” Western Carolina, in just its third season of existence this past fall, won a share of the Southern Conference regular season title and was the top seed at the SoCon Championship. The Catamounts were 16-6 overall and 8-2 in the league. Players selected to the All-Southeast Region team were chosen from universities from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida by NCAA Division I soccer coaches and the Soccer Buzz staff.
Martin, Echols Among Nation’s Scoring Leaders
The NCAA released its weekly statistics for games played through Jan. 7 and found freshman Kevin Martin and senior Laura Echols ranked among the nation’s top scorers. Martin (Zanesville, Ohio/Zanesville) ranks 25th (tied) nationally in scoring with a 21.0 average. That total additionally is the third-best in the nation by a freshman, trailing VMI’s Jason Conley (28.2.) and Memphis’ Dajuan Wagner (21.6 ppg) As a team, the WCU men rank 27th in the NCAA with its 80.4 points per game average. Echols (Conyers, Ga./Heritage) is ranked 22nd in the NCAA women’s ranking with a scoring average of 20.1 points per game.
