FARMVILLE, Va. – A school-record five members of the Longwood women's soccer team earned Big South honors, including first team all-conference selections Olivia Colella, Alana Mackey and Amanda Spencer.
 
Those three became Longwood's first three-member first-team class and were joined by Big South All-Conference second team pick Haylea Witz and All-Freshman Team selection Sydney Wallace on the conference's annual award list. Mackey, a four-year starter on the back line, also earned a Big South All-Academic Team nod.
 
Longwood's record Big South award haul comes on the heels of a 9-7-2 regular season performance that included a 6-3-2 record over the final 11 games. That performance yielded a fifth-place Big South finish and a postseason date with High Point this Saturday at 7 p.m. in the quarterfinal round of the Big South Tournament.
 
"The fact that we had so many award winners – three on the first team – shows the level of respect that the coaches in the Big South have for the Longwood women's soccer program," said 22nd-year Longwood head coach Todd Dyer, who has led the Lancers to three top-five finishes in the program's first four years in the Big South.
 
"The awards are all deserved and hard-earned by these players, and it gets us closer to our goal of winning a conference championship. We believe it will happen here, and with players and people like this, that day will come sooner rather than later."
 
Longwood's 2015 squad is the first group in the program's four years of the Big South membership to place four players on either the conference's first or second team. The three first-team picks were also a program record and extended a streak of four consecutive seasons with at least one first-team selection.
 
The five award winners represent Longwood all over the field, with Spencer earning Big South honors at forward, Colella at midfield, and Mackey, Witz and Wallace on the defensive end.
 
Spencer's Big South All-Conference award is the third of her three-year career, already surpassing the two awards earned by all-time Lancer great Kelsey Pardue in 2012 and 2013. The former Big South Freshman of the Year in 2013, Spencer leads Longwood with six goals this season, including three game-winners, one game-tying goal and an assist on another game-winner against Presbyterian. This year's first team selection is the first for Spencer, who earned second team honors in 2013 and 2014.
 
Colella's first team award comes on the heels of a three-goal senior campaign in which she played the most minutes of any offensive player on Longwood's squad. The versatile winger added two assists and also hit the game-winner on a free kick in the 83rd minute in a 1-0 win against Howard on Aug. 30. The All-Big South first team pick is also the first all-conference selection for the four-year starter.
 
For all the offense provided by Colella and Spencer, however, the strength of the Lancers this season has been the back line, and no player has been more crucial to that unit over the past four years than Mackey. Her first team selection this year caps a four-year career in which she has started all but one game while logging more than 6,000 minutes on the pitch. She has helped Longwood's defense register nine shutouts along with a 0.97 goals against average, both among the top three in the Big South. Mackey, who also received Big South All-Academic Team honors for holding a 3.64 GPA as a business administration major, previously earned Big South honorable mention honors as a sophomore in 2013.
 
Alongside Mackey in the backfield is center back Witz, whose breakout senior campaign led her to a second team all-conference selection. Witz started just three games over her first three seasons in Farmville but has been the fulcrum of Longwood's defense as a senior, starting all 18 games while leading the team with 1,560 minutes played. Her value on the back line led her to playing every minute of 14 games this season, including all but 14 of Longwood's 931 minutes in Big South play.
 
Wallace also emerged as a key piece of the Longwood defense in 2015, drawing 15 starts in her freshman season. The strong-footed native of Spotsylvania, Va., gave Longwood a Big South All-Freshman Team pick for the fourth straight year and joined a list that has included Lancer standouts Meghan Magee, Spencer, Gina D'Orazio and Teresa Fruchterman.
 
2015 Big South Conference Women's Soccer Award Winners
 
First-Team All-Conference
F:  Ashley Clark, R-Sr., Campbell
F:  Amber Adams, Jr., Coastal Carolina
F:  Jennifer Knoebel, Soph., Liberty
F:  Amanda Spencer, Jr., Longwood
MF:  Daniella Famili, Soph., Coastal Carolina
MF:  Becca Rolfe, Soph., High Point
MF:  Payton Ormsby, Jr., Campbell
MF:  Olivia Colella, Sr., Longwood
D:  Alana Mackey, Sr., Longwood
D:  Kelsey Perrell, R-Jr., High Point
D:  Taylor Coleman, Sr., Winthrop
D:  Jordan Lundin, Soph., Radford
GK:  Alex Persiani, Soph., High Point
 
Second-Team All-Conference
F:  Caroline Houser, Soph., UNC Asheville
F:  Anna Sells, Jr., Charleston Southern
F:  Shelby Hooe, Sr., Gardner-Webb
F:  Kayla Christian, Fr., Coastal Carolina
MF:  Bekah Page, Sr., Liberty
MF:  Hannah Gaither, Sr., Presbyterian College
MF:  Megan David, Sr., Winthrop
MF:  Erica Gazzani, Jr., Charleston Southern
D:  Sophie Cobb, Sr., Presbyterian College
D:  Emma Houser, Soph., UNC Asheville
D:  Haylea Witz, Sr., Longwood
D:  Bri Nagle, Jr., Gardner-Webb
GK:  Holly Van Noord, R-Jr., Liberty
 
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Amy Burch, D, Sr., High Point
Asyia Mitchell, F, Sr., Radford
Alexis Connors, GK, Sr., Campbell
Shannon Wratchford, F, Fr., Campbell
Mel Flatter, D, Jr., Coastal Carolina
 
All-Freshman Team
Kayla Christian, F, Coastal Carolina
Devon Jones, F, Liberty
Shannon Wratchford, F, Campbell
Sydney Wallace, D, Longwood
Callyn Loughrey, D, High Point
Justine James, F, UNC Asheville
Alyssa Dell Acqua, GK, Charleston Southern
Brittany DeLoach, D, Gardner-Webb
Kelsey Yeager, D, Presbyterian College
Anna Brantley, D, Campbell
Aly Hill, F, Liberty
 
All-Academic Team
Kine Thorsvik, MF, Jr., Campbell
Lydia Frierson, MF, Soph., Charleston Southern
Darbie Kelley, MF, Sr., Coastal Carolina
Shelby Hooe, F, Sr., Gardner-Webb
Amy Burch, D, Sr., High Point
Jennifer Knoebel, F, Soph., Liberty
Alana Mackey, D, Sr., Longwood
Sophie Cobb, D, Sr., Presbyterian College
Asyia Mitchell, F, Sr., Radford
Emma Houser, D, Soph., UNC Asheville
Jessica Logan, D, Sr., Winthrop
 
Attacking Player of the Year
Ashley Clark, F, R-Sr., Campbell
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Alex Persiani, GK, Soph., High Point
 
Freshman of the Year
Kayla Christian, F, Coastal Carolina
 
Coach of the Year
Paul Hogan, Coastal Carolina
 
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Shelby Hooe, F, Sr., Gardner-Webb

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