Missouri State women's soccer juniors Kate Hercules, Chelsea Anderson and sophomore Kate Blair earned Missouri Valley Conference women's soccer scholar-athlete first team honors, announced by the league office Thursday. The Bears' three scholar-athlete first-team selections was second only to Drake, with four.
Hercules, who earned her second straight first-team selection, holds a 3.69 grade-point average in actuarial sciences. The defender from Kansas City, Mo., led the Bears' defense to a 1.03 goals-against average and seven shutouts in the 2005 campaign. Hercules added six points on three goals, including one game winner, starting all 16 matches in which she played this season. Hercules was named the 2005 MVC Defensive Player of the Year, the third for Missouri State in as many years, and a first team all-conference selection. She was also named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VII second team for the 2005 campaign.
Anderson, also a first team scholar-athlete selection, holds a 3.63 GPA in psychology. The Omaha, Neb., native started in all 18 matches for the Bears in 2005 and led the Bears offensively with 18 points, seven goals, tied for the assists lead with four, and was second with two game-winning goals. She finished the season tied for third in the Valley standings with seven goals, tied for third with 18 points, and was fourth with 26 shots on goal. Anderson was named MVC Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 10, 2005, after scoring just the third hat trick in Missouri State women’s soccer history in the Bears’ 3-1 win over Northern Iowa. Anderson earned second team ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VII honors for the 2005 season, as well as being a second team MVC All-Conference selection and named as an MVC All-Tournament honoree.
Blair rounds out the first-team picks for the Bears with a 4.0 GPA. The forward from St. Louis, Mo., played in all 18 matches for the Bears in 2005 with 17 starts. Blair had nine points on three goals, all game winners, and three assists. She finished the season tied for second in the Missouri Valley Conference with three game-winning goals and is second on the Missouri State career game-winning goals list with seven in just two seasons. Blair was named the MVC Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 6, 2005, after scoring the game-winning goal and collecting her first career assist in the Bears’ 4-0 victory over Tennessee-Martin. Blair was named a first team ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VII pick and will move on to the national CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot.
Missouri State closed out the 2005 season on a 2-2 tie against Evansville, with the Purple Aces moving on in the State Farm MVC Tournament with a 4-2 decision in penalty kicks. Head coach Rob Brewer's squad finished the year at 9-4-5 and in third place in the Valley standings with a league mark of 3-1-2.
