Leja Garners ASUN Goalkeeper of the Year and Wedemeyer Selected ASUN Coach of the Year, as 9 Lady Flames Named to All-Conference Teams
10/26/2022 4:42:47 PM | Women's Soccer
2022 ASUN Women's Soccer All-Conference teams
Liberty’s Ainsley Leja was named the 2022 ASUN Goalkeeper of the Year and Head Coach Lang Wedemeyer was unanimously selected as the 2022 ASUN Coach of the Year as the ASUN Conference announced its women’s soccer awards this afternoon.
Selected by the conference’s head coaches, nine Lady Flames were named to the 2022 ASUN All-Conference teams and four were selected to the 2022 ASUN All-Freshmen team.
Leja joined defender Bridie Herman and midfielders Rachel DeRuby and McKinley Burkett on the ASUN All-Conference first team. Defender Rebekah Earnest, midfielder Saydie Holland and forwards Ivy Garner and Halle Engle garnered all-conference second team honors, while defender Lena James was selected to the all-conference third team.
Garner, Engle, forward Allison Hansford and defender Haleigh Arostegi were named to the ASUN All-Freshmen team.
Leja becomes the second Liberty goalkeeper to be selected the ASUN Goalkeeper of the Year, joining Melody Jaroe, who received the honor in 2019. Leja, who has started every game for ASUN regular season champion Liberty, finished the ASUN regular season with a 0.62 goals-against average and a .814 save percentage. The Rockford, Michigan native is third in the conference in both goals-against and save percentage. The sophomore leads the ASUN and is 11th in the nation with nine shutouts.
Wedemeyer was tabbed the ASUN Coach of the Year for the second time in his six years as head coach of the Lady Flames. He was named the ASUN Coach of the Year for the 2021 Spring Season.
Selected unanimously by his fellow head coaches, Wedemeyer led Liberty to a first-place finish atop the ASUN standings with an 8-0-2 record and a 12-3-3 overall mark. It is the fourth time during his six seasons that the Lady Flames have won 10 or more games in a season. His Liberty has allowed an ASUN-low 11 goals this season and its 0.61 goals-against average leads the ASUN and is 18th nationally. In addition, his Lady Flames have 11 shutouts on the season to lead the conference and rank 14th in the nation with a 0.611s shutout percentage.
Herman was named to the ASUN All-Conference first team for the first time in her career. The senior enters Thursday’s ASUN Quarterfinal match leading Liberty with 13 points. The defender has started every game this season, scoring three goals and recording seven assists in 2022. She leads the ASUN Conference in assists and is tied for 8th in the conference in points.
In addition, Herman has been part of a Liberty defensive unit that has helped the Lady Flames allow a conference-low 0.61 goals per game and blanked 11 teams to lead the ASUN in shutouts. The Springboro, Tenn., native was selected the ASUN Defensive Player of the Week twice this season. She earned the honor for the weeks of Sept. 27 and Oct. 4.
DeRuby garners her first ASUN All-Conference selection. The midfielder, who has started every game this season, is tied for the Liberty lead and is sixth in the ASUN with five goals. She enters the week second on the team with 10 points. In addition, the junior leads the Lady Flames and is second in the ASUN with four game-winning goals. The Oneida, N.Y., native has scored a goal in three of the last four games.
Burkett rounds out Liberty’s four all-conference first team members. The midfielder receives her second all-conference team honor, as she was named to the 2021 Spring ASUN All-Conference team. This season, the redshirt senior is tied for the Liberty lead and is sixth in the ASUN with five goals. She also is second on the Lady Flames with 10 points. Earlier today, the Moseley, Va., native was named to the 2022 ASUN All-Academic team.
Earnest garners her first all-conference honor in her final season in a Liberty uniform, being selected to the ASUN All-Conference second team. The defender has started every game this season and has played the second-most minutes of any Liberty player this season. The senior from Reading, Pa., has been part of a Liberty defensive unit that has helped the Lady Flames allow a conference-low 0.61 goals per game and blanked 11 teams to lead the ASUN in shutouts.
In her first season at Liberty after transferring from Ole Miss, Holland was selected to the all-conference team. The senior midfielder has played in 15 games with 14 starts. The Waverly, Tenn., native has scored two goals and two assists on the year.
Freshman forward Garner receives an all-conference second team honor in her first season at Liberty. With 10 points this season, the forward is tied for second in points on the Lady Flames. In 15 games, the Hillsborough, N.C., native has scored three goals and added three assists.
Garner’s fellow freshman forward, Halle Engle, also was voted to the all-conference second team. Engle, who played in all 18 games, has scored four goals so far in 2022. The Mechanicsburg, Pa., native leads Liberty with 45 shot attempts.
Named to the all-conference third team, junior defender Lena James garners her first all-conference honor. The Brownsburg, Ind., native has played every minute this season for Liberty and has recorded three assists. She has been a key part of a Liberty defensive unit that has helped the Lady Flames allow a conference-low 0.61 goals per game and blanked 11 teams to lead the ASUN in shutouts.
Hansford and Arostegi joined Garner and Engle on the 2022 ASUN All-Freshman team. Four freshmen on an all-freshmen team are the most for Liberty in a single season. Hansford, a forward, has played in every Liberty game this season, scoring four goals. Meanwhile, Arostegi, a defender, has played in every game and started 13 games, scoring a goal.
Liberty, the No. 1 seed, will host No. 8 seed Jacksonville in an ASUN Quarterfinal match at Osborne Stadium on Thursday. Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.
