Missouri State women's soccer sophomore Kate Blair was named to the ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VII women's soccer first team, announced Thursday, with juniors Chelsea Anderson and Kate Hercules receiving all-district second team honors
Blair was named to the first team with a 4.0 grade-point average and will move on to the national CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot. 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.
Anderson was selected as a second team pick with a 3.63 grade-point average 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.
Hercules was also selected as a second-team pick with a 3.69 GPA 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.
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.
