Soccer: Howell-Harries, Grasso Named All-Sun Belt Conference
Grace Howell-Harries named All-SBC First Team; Kimberly Grasso tabbed All-SBC Second Team
MOBILE, Ala. – Senior defender Grace Howell-Harries and sophomore midfielder Kimberly Grasso of the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns soccer team were selected to the 2014 All-Sun Belt Conference Team, the league announced Tuesday night at the SBC Championship Banquet. Howell-Harries earned first team honors while Grasso was named to the second team.
"I’m very proud of Grace and Kim," said head coach Scot Wieland. "This recognition is so well deserved and they deserve every bit of it. I’m really happy for Grace to go out on top as one of the best defenders in the league. Kim has been amazing this year, and has really played at a high level. She is an incredibly humble young lady and I couldn’t be more proud of her."
Howell-Harries led the Cajuns in minutes for the third-straight season, totaling 1,472 in 17 matches. On the season, she played the full 90 minutes 13 times, recording a season-high 110 minutes twice. A native of London, Ontario, Canada, Howell-Harries has served as a captain for Louisiana the past two seasons. In 2014, she recorded two assists, tallying one of those in Louisiana’s record-setting 10-1 win over Alcorn State on Sept. 21. The first team honor is Howell-Harries’ second of her career after being named to the team in 2013, and her third SBC accolade after earning second team honors as a freshman.
Grasso garnered Sun Belt postseason honors for the first time in her career. A native of Houma, La., Grasso played in all 18 matches with 12 starts this season, and was fourth on the team and first among midfielders with 1,039 minutes played. Grasso recorded five goals for 10 points, tying for third on the team in goals scored while ranking fourth in points. This season, Grasso helped the Cajuns to 47 goals and 121 points, both program records, to rank as one of the top offenses in the country. Heading into this week’s SBC Championships, Louisiana is tied for 14th in the nation in total goals and tied for 30th in total points.
Regular season champion South Alabama led the league with seven all-conference selections, five being named to the first team including SBC Offensive and Freshman of the Year Chardé Hannah and SBC Defensive Player of the Year Nini Rabsatt-Smith. Troy totaled five all-conference picks while Georgia Southern placed three on the team. Louisiana was joined by Texas State and Georgia State with two selections apiece while UALR was represented with one player on the team.
The SBC Championships kick-off tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. at South Alabama’s The Cage in Mobile. Louisiana enters the tournament as the No. 7 seed and will face No. 2 Troy at 1 p.m. in the second quarterfinal match of the day. The winner will take on either No. 3 Texas State or No. 6 Georgia State in a semifinal match Friday at 4 p.m. The championship match is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN3. Live stats and live video streams of each match will be available for free at SunBeltSports.org.
2014 SBC First Team All-Conference
Chardé Hannah (South Alabama, Freshman, Forward)
Rio Hardy (South Alabama, Freshman, Forward)
Lynsey Curry (Texas State, Junior, Forward)
Nora El-Shami (Georgia Southern, Junior, Midfielder)
Sophie Haywood (South Alabama, Freshman, Midfielder)
Alissa Jones (Troy, Junior Midfielder)
Grace Howell-Harries (Louisiana, Senior, Defender)
Steffi Hardy (South Alabama, Freshman, Defender)
Nini Rabsatt-Smith (South Alabama, Junior, Defender)
Georgia Wallis (Troy, Senior, Defender)
Katie Merson (Georgia Southern, R-Senior, Goalkeeper)
2014 SBC Second Team All-Conference
Fali Garuba (UALR, Freshman, Forward)
Melinda Lukas (Georgia Southern, Sophomore, Forward)
Whitney Ravan (Georgia State, Senior, Forward)
Chelsey Williams (Troy, Junior, Forward)
Kimberly Grasso (Louisiana, Sophomore, Midfielder)
Monique Autmon (South Alabama, Sophomore, Midfielder)
Danielle Henley (South Alabama, Freshman, Midfielder)
Jenna Moore (Georgia State, Junior, Defender)
Elizabeth Havenhill (Texas State, Freshman, Defender)
Payton Donley (Troy, Junior, Defender)
Mikki Lewis (Troy, Freshman, Goalkeeper)
2014 SBC Offensive Player of the Year
Chardé Hannah (South Alabama, Freshman, Forward)
2014 SBC Defensive Player of the Year
Nini Rabsatt-Smith (South Alabama, Junior, Defender)
2014 SBC Freshman of the Year
Chardé Hannah (South Alabama, Freshman, Forward)
2014 SBC Coach of the Year
Graham Winkworth, South Alabama
