ST. LOUIS – Abby Couch and Anna Durnin of the Missouri State women's soccer program garnered Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete honors, the league announced Wednesday.

Couch (So., Kearney, Mo.) was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete first team while Durnin (Sr., Wentzville, Mo.) was an honorable mention selection.

Couch started all 17 matches for Missouri State this season, totaling four points on one goal and two assists in her 1,323 minutes of action. Her assists came in a 2-1 win over Drake on Oct. 23. Her four points were tied for the third-most on the team and she was one of nine Bears to surpass the 1,000-minute mark. She holds a 3.98 GPA in Speech Language Pathology. 

Durnin finished tied for second on the team with six points after recording two goals and two assists during her senior campaign. Her assists came in wins over Oral Roberts (Sept. 2) and Southern Illinois (Sept. 17). Durnin was a vital point of the Bears offense, ranking second in total shots with 28 and third in shots on goal with 13. She is a four-time all-MVC selection and is currently pursuing her MBA and owns a 3.75 GPA. 
 
The criteria for the all-MVC honor parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average (on a 4.00 scale). Also, students must have participated in at least 75 percent of the regular season matches or played in the league tournament. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution (true freshmen and redshirt freshmen are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at their institution.
  
The Bears finished the 2021-22 campaign with an overall record of 5-7-5, including a 2-4-2 ledger in MVC matches to finish eighth in the league standings.