MVC Release
 
ST. LOUIS – Sophomore goalkeeper Kaitlin Maxwell became the second player in Missouri State history to be selected as Missouri Valley Conference Women's Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year, highlighting a group of five Bears recognized with league's awards, as announced Thursday.
 
Missouri State's defense was on full display, with Maxwell and defender Brittney Robinson both earning All-MVC first team honors. Fellow defender Jacqueline Baetz was selected for second team, while leading scorer Jordan Eickelman found a spot on the honorable mention list. Newcomers Anna Durnin and Kennady Orlick rounded out the Bears' honorees, both nabbing a spot on the MVC All-Freshman team.

Maxwell was a force to be reckoned with in cage this season, totaling 114 saves. The count is currently second in the conference and fifth nationally. Her single season save efforts tie for fourth best in program history alongside Jackie Jasper in 2006.

The Lincoln, Neb. native tallied six shutouts and logged double-digit saves four times, and earned MVC defensive player of the week honors on Oct. 1 after collecting 10 grabs and shutting-out Northern Iowa. Her goals against average was third best in MVC and is sixth best in Bears' history.

This is Maxwell's first All-MVC first team and goalkeeper of the year recognitions. She is the youngest to earn the award since Evansville's Simone Busby in 2012.

Becoming a staple in the backline, Robinson saw 1,455 minutes of action this season, playing 10 games to full duration.

The Ballwin, Mo. native scored the game-winning goal to lift the Bears to a 1-0 win over Big-12 member Kansas State, marking the first time the Wildcats were shut-out on their home turf. Robinson's first-team selection is her second straight MVC nod, earning second-team last year.

Another key piece in the Bears' defense, Baetz totaled 1,477 on the pitch in her sophomore campaign. The St. Louis, Mo. native collected four assists this season, including in back-to-back road contests against non-conference opponents Kansas State and Oral Roberts. She played the entire duration of 10 games, including the final six conference games.

Tying as the Bears' leading offensive weapon, Eickelman picked up her first MVC award as honorable mention. She had a spectacular sophomore season, earning MVC offensive player of the week honors after scoring two goals, including the game winner, in the Bears 3-2 comeback victory at Tulsa. Her two goals were a career-high, and she scored again against Illinois State and Valparaiso. She tallied a season-high four shots twice this season.

Rounding out the honorees for the Bears is key offensive players Durnin and Orlick. Freshman forward Durnin was named MVC newcomer of the week after scoring the game-winning goal to lift Missouri State to a 1-0 shutout over Omaha on the Bears' home turf, also marking her first career score. She also logged an assist in Missouri State's 3-2 comeback victory at Tulsa.

Orlick was a staple on the Bears' offensive front, tying fellow honoree Eickelman in goals scored this season. All of her goals were game winners, which led the conference and ranked her as high as sixth nationally. She was named MVC Newcomer of the Week on Oct. 1 after scoring the go-ahead goal in the 1-0 shutout over Northern Iowa. The Raymore, Mo. native was the lone scorer in three of the four games.

The Bears finished the season 8-9-2, going 2-3-2 in league play before being eliminated by Illinois State in the MVC tournament opening round.
 
For all the latest information on the Missouri State women's soccer team visit MissouriStateBears.com or follow @MSUBearsWSoccer on Twitter.