BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – Senior forward
Sydney Tucker of the Concord University women's soccer team has been named the Mountain East Conference Offensive Player of the Year, the league office announced Friday morning.
In all, six Mountain Lions earned All-MEC recognition Friday. Tucker, senior defender
Leah Fleming and freshman midfielder
Marika Svensson were tabbed All-MEC First Team. Freshman midfielder
Tiana Campbell and junior forward
Caitlin Webster were named All-MEC Second Team. And freshman defender
Ella Rowell picked up All-MEC Honorable Mention. Additionally, Svensson was a member of the All-MEC Freshman Team.
Tucker, a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, becomes the third Mountain Lion in the last six years to be named MEC Offensive Player of the Year, joining Leah Foster (2019) and Yasmin Mosby (Spring 2021, 2021). Tucker led the MEC in goals (16) and points (36). She currently ranks top five in NCAA Division II in goals. Among the highlights for Tucker during the regular season was netting three hat tricks—vs. Salem, at Wheeling and at West Liberty. She also had a brace in the home opener versus Davis & Elkins. Furthermore, she scored in seven straight games from October 6 to October 27. And four of her goals were game-winning goals, including a goal with eight seconds remaining to pick up a 4-3 win over West Virginia State October 27.
Fleming was the MEC's top-scoring defensive player, tallying eight goals during the regular season. The Arbroath, Scotland native added five assists which was second on the team. Fleming registered her first career hat trick in a win over West Virginia Wesleyan (October 23) which kickstarted a stretch of scoring four of the final five games to close the regular season. Fleming ranked eighth in the conference in points (21). Defensively, Fleming was part of seven shutouts as a member of the backline. Â
In her first season in the Maroon and Gray, Svensson became one of six players in the conference with 10 or more goals, finishing with 10 goals. The Jaegerspris, Denmark native scored a hat trick in a September 29 win at Glenville State. She added two more goals to close the regular season versus GSU. Svensson's first brace of the season came in the home opener against Davis & Elkins. Svensson added three-point games versus Salem and West Liberty. She tied for sixth in the MEC with 23 points.
Campbell, a native of Plymouth, England, had braces in four games and added a ninth goal versus West Virginia Wesleyan. Campbell's first brace of the year opened up MEC play for CU at WVWC. She added two-goal games versus Salem and Davis & Elkins. Among freshmen, Campbell finished only behind Svensson and West Virginia State's Sara Paris Filter in terms of goals by first-year players in the conference.
Webster was Concord's leader in assists this season with seven. She added six goals for a total of 19 points which ranked just outside the top 10 in the MEC. The Sydney, Australia native tied for second in the conference in assists. Webster had two games with two assists, at Wheeling and at West Liberty. Additionally, Webster had a string of seven games out of nine with at least one point from October 2 to October 30.
One of only three CU players to start all 18 regular-season games, along with Svensson and Webster, Rowell was a mainstay at the right back position for the Mountain Lions. The Durham, England native tallied two assists which came in back-to-back games against Salem and Wheeling in early October. With Rowell in the lineup, Concord notched seven shutouts and had four more games where it only allowed one goal.
Frostburg State's Cat Smith was voted as the MEC Defensive Player of the Year. WVSU's Sara Paris Filter was the MEC Freshman of the Year. And first-year Charleston head coach Sarah Leiby was named MEC Coach of the Year.
The MEC Awards and All-MEC Teams are voted on by the league's 11 head coaches.
Concord opens the MEC Tournament at Fairmont State 1:00 p.m. Sunday.
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