OKLAHOMA CITY – The Sooner Athletic Conference announced its 2021 All-Conference awards on Wednesday as five players from the Mid-America Christian women's soccer team were honored.
Three Evangels were placed on the All-SAC First Team as senior forward Kelsey Henry, senior midfielder Marga Franco and senior defender Dixie Anderson were each selected to the esteemed list. On the All-SAC Second Team, senior forward Kyleigh Rushing and senior goalkeeper Jennifer Starwalt each earned honors.
Collecting her second First Team acclaim, Henry has been the offensive leader for the Evangels so far during the 2021 campaign. Heading into the NCCAA Central Region Championship, Henry has netted a team-high eight goals and dished out four assists for a squad-leading 20 points.
Henry's best match of the season came in a 7-1 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Oct. 26, as she scored a pair of goals and dished out a pair of assists for a career-high six points in the match.
The glue of the Evangels team, Franco has been a tremendous leader for MACU in her three seasons with the program. This season, Franco leads the team with six assists and has been tremendous for MACU in the defense as well. The Palma de Mallorca, Spain native dished out a season-high two assists over in the win over the Aggies.
In the MACU defense, Anderson has been a spark plug on the outer edge. She has been a key part of a defense that is allowing just 1.82 goals per game while conceding 12.8 shots and 6.4 shots on-goal per game. The Shawnee, Okla. product also scored a crucial goal for the Evangels in their 3-2 comeback win at Central Christian back on Oct. 2.
Earning her third All-SAC Second Team accolade, Rushing was once again one of the Evangels' top scorers. The Moore, Okla. native scored five goals and dished out three assists to notch 13 points on the season.
In MACU's 1-0 victory over Central Christian in the SAC Quarterfinal on Nov. 6, Rushing netted a beautiful 30-yard game-winner from the right side with 27:48 remaining. Rushing currently ranks eight on MACU's all-time scoring list with 31 career goals.
Rounding out the honorees, Starwalt captured her third All-SAC honor in-goal for the Evangels. This season, Starwalt owns a 10-7 record in-goal and is boasting a 1.80 goals against average with 73 saves for a .716 save percentage.
