For the second-straight season, the Hutchinson Community College women’s soccer team swept the Jayhawk Conference’s top postseason awards.
Head coach Sammy Lane was named the conference’s coach of the year. Sophomore Alicia Robinson was named the Jayhawk Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year for the second-straight year. Sophomore Rebekah Ramstack was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.
Hutchinson placed six players on the all-conference first team and two more on the second team. HCC had five first-team and three second-team all-Region VI players.
The 2011 Lady Dragons went 17-3 this season and reached as high as No. 3 in the NJCAA national rankings for the second-straight season. HCC repeated as Jayhawk Conference and Region VI champions, winning each of those titles for the third time in the program’s seven-year history.
Head Coach Sammy Lane
Sammy Lane was voted the Jayhawk Conference Coach of the Year for the third-straight year and for the fifth time in seven years, also winning in 2004, 2005, 2009 and 2010.
This season, Lane’s team set team records for goals scored (135), assists (108) and points (378).
Lane reached the 100-win plateau this season. His record is a 108-26-2, including a Jayhawk Conference-best 71-7-2 over the past four seasons.
After starting the season 3-2 (the two losses were forfeited wins because of an ineligible player), the Lady Dragons ran the table to tie for the conference championship and win the program’s second-straight regional crown. HCC’s winning streak was 14 straight games.
Alicia Robinson (Offensive Player of the Year, 1st team All-Jayhawk, 1st team All-Region VI)
The sophomore midfielder from Telford, England once again proved her worth in being named the league’s top offensive player for the second-straight season.
Robinson scored 12 goals and led the nation with a school-record 27 assists, tying for third on the team with 51 points. Her ability to dribble and work through double and triple teams earned praises from all over the league and has made her a hot commodity at the Division I level.
This season, Robinson had four two-goal games, seven multi-assist games and nine multi-point games. She had three four-assist games this season against Hesston College, Dodge City and Coffeyville.
For her career, Robinson finished with a team record 42 assists. She is fourth in career points (90) and tied for seventh in career goals (24).
Rebekah Ramstack (Defensive Player of the Year, 1st team All-Jayhawk, 2nd team All-Region VI)
The sophomore defender from Wichita played on two of Hutchinson’s best defensive teams, which allowed a combined 18 goals in two seasons.
In 2011, Ramstack led a defense that allowed only nine goals and allowed only 109 shots to be taken and 41 shots on goal. The 2011 Lady Dragons posted 14 shutouts. Twice HCC held an opponent to no shots taken in a game.
Ramstack played in all 20 games this season, she managed to get into the offensive side of the ledger with three goals and two assists.
Melissa Hetherington (1st team All-Jayhawk, 1st team All-Region VI)
It took the freshman forward from Burnley, England three games to score her first career goal. After setting a school record with six goals against Pratt, Hetherington didn’t slow down.
Hetherington was one of the nation’s top goal scorers this season. She set a single-season and freshman HCC record with 36 goals and 86 points. Those marks already rank fourth and fifth, respectively, on the Lady Dragon career chart. Hetherington added 14 assists to a stellar first season with the Lady Dragons.
Hetherington scored goals in 16 of 20 games this season, including the final six games of the campaign. Those goals including game-winning goals in the Region VI semifinals against Johnson County and a spectacular mid-air strike for the game-winning goal in the Region VI championship game against Butler.
She scored four or more goals four times. She had eight multi-goal, two multi-assist and 10 multi-point games with a single-game record 12 points against Pratt and games of 11 points against Independence and 11 points against Coffeyville.
Madison Joyce (1st team All-Jayhawk, 1st team All-Region VI)
Already known as tremendously athletic, the sophomore forward from Manhattan became a powerful goal scorer this season.
Joyce finished the season with 18 goals (seventh on the single-season list), 15 assists (tied for second on the single-season list) and 51 points (tied for sixth on the single-season list).
Joyce had one hat trick against Dodge City and five multi-goal games. She had three assists twice and four multi-assist games. Joyce posted 11 multi-point games with a season high of eight against Dodge City when she scored three goals and two assists.
For her career, Joyce is fifth on the career goals list with 30, tied for sixth in career assists with 21 and is seventh in career points with 81.
Pearl Slattery (1st team All-Jayhawk, 1st team All-Region VI)
The sophomore midfielder from Dublin, Ireland, got her 2011 season off to a tremendous start with a hat trick, including the game winner on a penalty kick, in the season opener against Cloud County.
Slattery became the sixth player in Lady Dragon history to tally 20 goals in a single season. She finished with 15 assists (tied for second on the single-season list) and 55 points (third most in a season).
Slattery had two hat tricks and seven multi-goal games. Slattery was 4 of 4 on penalty kicks in 2011. She tied a team single-game record with five assists against Pratt. Slattery totaled four multi-assist games and 11 multi-assist games.
Slattery closes her HCC career sixth in points (85), sixth in goals scored (29) and tied for third in assists (27).
Logan Shupe (1st team All-Jayhawk, 1st team All-Region VI)
The sophomore defender from Wichita (Maize High School) missed the entire preseason and first regular-season game. Upon Shupe’s return, the Lady Dragon defense stabilized and turned into a cohesive unit.
Shupe’s singular moment to many will be her performance in the 2010 Region VI championship game when she was in charge of marking Butler’s high-scoring Cindy Benitez and completely shut her down.
During her sophomore season, Shupe held many similar defensive assignments and helped the Lady Dragons allow just nine goals in 20 games this season, posting 14 shutouts.
Shupe had a solid season offensively with four goals and eight assists (16 points).
Miranda Holmes (2nd team All-Jayhawk, 2nd team All-Region VI)
While other HCC midfielders gain notoriety on the offensive end, Holmes,. a midfielder from Wichita (Maize High School) has been stellar for two seasons defending in the midfield and transitioning from defense to offense.
Holmes was at her best during the postseason the last two years, especially in the 2011 Region VI championship game against Butler. With HCC up 1-0, Holmes helped the Lady Dragons sustain 40 minutes of pressure from Butler to win a second-straight 1-0 regional title game over the Grizzlies.
Holmes waited 39 games to score her first career goal, and then she went off for two in the Region VI first-round victory over Dodge City. First, Holmes connected on a penalty kick and then blasted a shot from outside of the box for her second tally against the Conquistadors.
Holmes finished her career with two goals and two assists.
Jamie Smith (2nd team All-Jayhawk, 2nd team All-Region VI)
The only starting freshman on the HCC back line this season, the native from Welland, Canada, continually stood her ground against the best offensive teams in the Jayhawk Conference this season.
Smith played in all 20 games this season. She, like all the other HCC back-line players, was at their best in the Region VI Tournament. Smith’s clear of a ball just a few feet away from the goal line in the final minutes of the Region VI championship game against Butler erased the Grizzlies’ final threat.
Smith also came up big on the offensive end in the Region VI semifinals. With Hutchinson trailing 2-1 to Johnson County early in the second half, Smith scored on a corner kick to tie the game. HCC went on to win 3-2.
Smith had two goals and an assist this season.
(HCC Sports Information)
2011 ALL-JAYHAWK CONFERENCE WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM
Coach of the Year: Sammy Lane, Hutchinson
Offensive Player of the Year: Alicia Robinson, Hutchinson
Defensive Player of the Year: Rebekah Ramstack, Hutchinson