Luebbert Named SEC Freshman of the Year, Three Other Tigers Earn All-SEC Honors
10/30/2016 11:51:00 AM | Soccer
Sarah Luebbert earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou soccer freshman Sarah Luebbert (Jefferson City, Mo.) was named the 2016 Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year in a vote by the league coaches, the conference announced on Sunday (Oct. 30). Additionally, senior Melanie Donaldson (Florissant, Mo.) claimed a spot on the first team and senior Lauren Selaiden (Carrollton, Texas), junior Kaitlyn Clark (Liberty, Mo.) and Luebbert were named to the second team. Luebbert also earned All-Freshman Team honors.
Luebbert joins Alysha Bonnick in 2007 as the second Tiger to claim conference freshman or newcomer of the year honors. She also becomes the only second Mizzou freshman to earn a spot on a conference first or second team, joining Nikki Thole in 1997.
The Jefferson City, Mo., native, who earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors a league-high three times in 2016, leads Missouri with 24 points on 10 goals and four assists. Her point and goal totals are the most for a Tiger since Kristin Andrighetto had 27 and 10 in 2009 and rank second on both Mizzou's all-time freshman points and goals lists. Additionally, Luebbert ranks fourth among SEC players in goals per game (0.62) and tied for fifth in points per game (1.50).
A midfielder, Donaldson claimed All-SEC honors for the second time in her career, as she was named to the second team in 2014. As a senior, she has started all 17 games she played and tallied two goals and one assists for five points. Donaldson has played every minute of seven games as a defensive midfielder, all of which have come over the last 10 contests. In her career, she has started 75 of the 78 games she has played as a Tiger and has 21 points on eight goals and five assists.
Clark claimed second team honors on the heels of two goals and a team-high seven assists for 11 points during the regular season. The junior, who was an All-Freshman Team selection in 2014, played and started 16 games in the midfield this year. Her seven assists rank eighth in the SEC, while her five assists in SEC rank fourth in league-only games. Clark owns 27 career points on six goals and 15 assists and has started 54 of the 57 games she has played in a Tiger uniform.
Selaiden's second team honor marked the first All-SEC accolade of her Tiger career. A midfielder for her first three years with the program, Selaiden moved to defender in 2016 and helped anchor a Mizzou defense that allowed 1.17 goals per game, including a 0.97 goals against average in conference matches. She played and started 17 games as a senior and played every minute of 13 contests. Selaiden tallied one goal on the year and owns 16 career points on eight goals. She has seen action in 78 games as a Tiger and earned 41 starts, including 36 over the past two seasons.
The five-seed, Missouri opens SEC Tournament action on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 7:30 p.m. against No. 17 and four-seed Florida in Orange Beach, Ala.
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