Sooners Garner Postseason Awards

NORMAN -- The Oklahoma soccer team capped the regular season with two All-Big 12 awards and two Big 12 weekly honors on Monday.

OU netted a pair of All-Big 12 honors from junior transfer Laura Rayfield and true freshman Lizzie Luallin, both of whom captured spots on the conference Newcomer Team. The awards mark the second straight season Oklahoma has had multiple honorees on the All-Big 12 Newcomer Team.

With weekly awards for Kaitlyn Fahrner (defensive) and Rasha Roberts (newcomer), Oklahoma finished 2014 with eight conference weekly honors, its highest total since the conference began honoring players in 2000. Oklahoma's eight honors tied West Virginia for the conference lead this season.

Oklahoma will open postseason play on Wednesday evening in Kansas City, facing No. 3 seed Kansas at 8 p.m. CT. The rematch of OU's season finale is set to broadcast live on the Big 12 Digital Network, with the winner advancing to semifinal play on Friday.

All-Big 12

The Big 12 released its all-conference honor listing on Monday afternoon, listing two Sooners as award winners for the season. Junior defender Laura Rayfield and freshman midfielder Lizzie Luallin were heralded as picks for the 2014 All-Big 12 Newcomer Team.

Rayfield joined the Sooners after two seasons at Oregon State, providing immediate leadership and focus to Oklahoma's defense. The Auburn, Wash., native has started all 19 matches for OU, logging a team-high four assists plus one goal for the Sooners. She has aided Oklahoma to a 0.89 goals-against average on the season, the program's best team mark since 2000, as well as seven shutouts.

Rayfield netted Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors on Oct. 7 after posting her first goal as a Sooner in a 1-0 win over Iowa State. She has handled duties on set pieces for OU as well, bringing out all free kicks and splitting work on corner kicks for the Sooners. Her four assists are tied for the eighth-most in the conference.

True freshman Lizzie Luallin is an all-conference newcomer this season after appearing in all 19 games and logging 12 starts for Oklahoma. The Leawood, Kan., native owns two goals and one assist this season, providing a spark for OU with her tremendous motor at the midfield position. She has posted starts in seven of eight Big 12 matches for OU.

Luallin jumped out of the gates for Oklahoma, winning conference Newcomer of the Week accolades on Aug. 26 after she posted one goal in a 1-1 tie with Utah and one assist in a 2-0 win over Oklahoma State. Luallin also picked up a goal in Oklahoma's 2-1 loss to Bedlam foe Oklahoma State on Oct. 17.

Academic All-Big 12

Eight soccer team members garnered Academic All-Big 12 honors for the 2014 season, the conference office announced Tuesday. Of OU's selections, three (all seniors) were repeat honorees. This year marks the 10^th consecutive season that Oklahoma has had at least five team members named to the honor listing.

Emily Bowman, Kaitlyn Fahrner, Abby Hodgen, Madison Kinzer, Rachel Ressler, Molly Richey and Madison Saliba were all named first-team academic all-conference picks, while Shiloh Price garnered second team honors.

First team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA while the second team selections hold a 3.00 to 3.19 GPA.

Seniors Bowman (biology/pre-med) and Richey (energy management) both earned their third consecutive appearance on the first team with Tuesday's awards. Hodgen is making her second career appearance overall and her first on the first team.

Sophomores Fahrner, Kinzer, Ressler, Saliba and Price all earned their first career awards in their seasons of eligibility.

To qualify, student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 GPA or higher either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of their team's scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are also eligible.

Big 12 Weekly Awards

The final Big 12 weekly awards of the season were announced Monday morning, with the Sooners netting a pair of honors following Oklahoma's 1-0 win over No. 14 Kansas last Friday. Kaitlyn Fahrner snagged her fourth Defensive Player of the Week accolade, while Rasha Roberts picked up her first Newcomer of the Week honor.

Fahrner earned defensive honors after picking up her fifth shutout of the season against the Jayhawks, allowing no goals on 11 shots and adding four saves on the night. Two of Fahrner's saves came in the last three minutes of play, preserving the victory for OU. Her five shutouts in 2014 are the most in a single season for Oklahoma since 2010.

Roberts became the fourth Sooner newcomer to garner weekly honors from the Big 12 with her award. She played a key role in OU's victory, playing the ball into the box to teammate Tori Bowman to set up a foul and a penalty kick. Roberts then took the PK, neatly sending the ball in for her third goal of the season and first game-winner.

All-Big 12

Academic All-Big 12

Big 12 Weekly Awards

Players Mentioned

Emily Bowman

Tori Bowman

Kaitlyn Fahrner

Abby Hodgen

Madison Kinzer

Lizzie Luallin

Shiloh Price

Shiloh Price

Laura Rayfield

Rachel Ressler

Molly Richey

Rasha Roberts

Madison Saliba

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics