A number of Eastern Mennonite University student-athletes and varsity teams have been recognized for their achievements during the fall semester.
The EMU women’s field hockey team finished the season 17-3 and made their first appearance in the NCAA “sweet 16” since 1999. The Lady Royals won the Old Dominion Athletic Association championship by knocking off undefeated Virginia Wesleyan in the championship game at Virginia Beach on Nov. 8. They were nationally ranked eighth nationally in the final National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFCHA) poll.
Senior Kristin Moyer (Souderton, Pa.) was named ODAC field hockey scholar-athlete of the year, ODAC player of the year, ODAC All-Tournament and first team all-ODAC. She also led the nation in scoring and points for the season in Division III and was featured in the Oct. 27 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine on the “Faces in the Crowd” page.
Moyer finished her career with 232 points. With 93 goals and 46 assists, she ranked second all-time at EMU in goals scored and in the top ten for assists. She garnered NFHCA All-Region All-American honors as well as All-American honors for the second consecutive season. In addition, she was named All-State player of the year for the second-straight season by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID).
Sophomore Jonalyn Denlinger (Lancaster, Pa.) was also named to the all-ODAC first team and to the All-Region All-American team and All-American third team by the NFHCA. Junior Lisa Ehst (Bally, Pa.) was named to the second team all-ODAC, sophomore Ashley Byler (Mill Creek, Pa.) and freshman Kristie Souder (Telford, Pa.) both earned honorable mentions. Stephanie Derstine (Telford, PA) was ODAC player of the week. Co-coach of the year was Brenda Bechler, a 1995 EMU graduate.
The women’s soccer team advanced to the ODAC semifinals. They lost a heart-breaking semi-final game to number-one seed Virginia Wesleyan on shootouts, 4-2. The regulation score was 1-1. Senior forward Ellie Lind (Durban, South Africa) was named first team all-ODAC. Lind ends her career with an EMU record 76 goals and 31 assists for 181 points. Her 76 goals rank her second all-time in the ODAC and her point total is third all-time.
Freshman goalie Joy Shaiebly (Lancaster, Pa.) and junior back Kendra Martin (Narvon, Pa.) were named to the second team. Honorable mentions were awarded to senior Heather Bauman (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), junior Audra Baker (Lebanon, Ore.) and sophomore Sarah Buller (Goshen, Ind.). The team finished with a 10-7-1 record, winning ten games or more for the fourth consecutive year. Coach Greg Steffen captured his 50th career victory this past season and has 55 victories after the 2003 season.
The men’s soccer team made it to the ODAC quarterfinals. They tasted defeat only three times this year,finishing 8-3-6. They hosted Randolph Macon in an ODAC quarterfinal game and battled to a 0-0 tie after regulation and two ten minute overtimes. The Royals were eliminated by a 4-2 score in a shootout. Senior forward Clayton Suydam (Harrisonburg, Va.) was selected first team all-ODAC and Adam Shank (Harrisonburg, Va.) was honorable mention.
Even though the EMU men