Cascade Conference release

LA GRANDE – Four Southern Oregon University women's soccer players have been named first-time Cascade Conference all-stars, as voted on by the league's coaches.

Raiders Paige Kilpatrick (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley), Megan McArthur (San Jose, Calif./Presentation) and Allyson Ward (Santa Rosa, Calif./Santa Rosa) were selected to the All-CCC second team, and Presley Lambert (Santa Clarita, Calif./Hart) received honorable mention. All four players recently earned Academic All-CCC recognition, too.

Kilpatrick, one of the team's five seniors, was a key cog for the SOU defense the last four seasons and a starter the last three. She contributed to 22 Raider shutouts during her career and this year helped limit opponents to 11 goals in nine conference matches.

Ward, a junior, has started 33 games on defense since her freshman season and also played a little midfield in 2014 while recording the first two assists of her career.

A junior forward, McArthur had to step into a larger play-making role this season as the Raiders lost their top three point-scorers from 2013. She came through with a team-high five goals, including two of the game-winning variety, and three assists. She now has 10 goals and five assists in her career.

Lambert turned out to be another one of SOU's top offensive threats with 11 total points, which was second on the team. The sophomore scored four goals and was credited with three assists, also generating a team-high 33 shots.

The Raiders went 5-10-2 overall and 4-4-1 in conference play. They were eliminated in the first round of the CCC tournament by Corban, which advanced in penalty kicks.

Senior forward Acacia Johnson was named the CCC offensive player of the year for leading Northwest to the regular-season title with 17 goals. Concordia's Jasmin Ayala was the defensive player of the year and College of Idaho's Katelyn Benavidez was the newcomer of the year.

Northwest's Vallan Seid and Corban's Holly Popunuk – both in their second seasons – shared coach of the year honors.