Southeast Missouri State women's soccer team hordes OVC top honors

Southeast Missouri State's championship women's soccer team was recognized Wednesday night with a near-sweep of the Ohio Valley Conference's four major individual postseason awards.

Heather Nelson was named the OVC coach of the year, senior forward Jessie Crabtree the offensive player of the year and forward Erin Shulman the freshman of the year.

The trio was honored during the OVC women's soccer awards banquet in Cape Girardeau. Regular-season OVC champion Southeast is hosting the conference tournament beginning today at Houck Stadium.

Southeast had a league-high five players named first-team all-OVC and one more make the second team. Voting was done by the conference coaches and sports information directors.

"I'm very pleased with how many people were recognized," Nelson said. "It was a very good night for us."

Southeast Missouri State's Erin Shulman, left, was named the Ohio Valley Conference freshman of the year. (Fred Lynch)

Nelson won her fourth OVC coach of the year award since she started the Southeast program in 1999. She also was honored after leading the Redhawks to OVC regular-season titles in 2001, 2002 and 2007.

"I couldn't have a better coaching staff, and I absolutely love my team," said Nelson, whose assistants include her husband, Paul, and former Southeast standout Lindsay Pickering. "It's more of a reflection of the three of us. We all bring something to the program."

Crabtree is playing her only season at Southeast after transferring from the University of Missouri.

Crabtree, a native of Marion, Ill., has eight goals and four assists for a team-high 20 points, which ranks second in the OVC. She is third in goals and leads the league in points during conference play with 14. She also is tied for first with five goals in OVC play and leads in assists with four.

Shulman leads Southeast in goals with nine, second-most in the OVC, despite missing five games late in the season with an ankle injury. She has 18 points, fourth-best in the conference.

Heather Nelson

Shulman, a native of Bloomington, Ill., ranks second in the OVC in goals per game and points per game. She is tied for first with four game-winning goals. She is also first in goals per game in conference play.

"It's really neat how quickly Jessie and Erin have fit into our program," Nelson said. "It feels like they've been here a lot longer."

Crabtree and Shulman also were named first-team all-OVC and selected to the league's all-newcomer team.

Joining Crabtree and Shulman on the all-OVC first team were senior midfielder Lauren Bozesky, senior defender Nikki Edwards and sophomore goalkeeper Ashton Aubuchon.

Bozesky, a St. Louis native in her second Southeast season after transferring from Saint Louis University, is sixth in the OVC with seven goals and sixth with 16 points. She is second with 11 points in OVC play and is tied for first with five goals.

Heather Nelson

"I couldn't be happier for Bo. She battled injuries for a couple of years and could have given up, but she has such a passion for the game," Nelson said.

Edwards, from Calgary, Alberta, has started every game of her four-year Southeast career. She has spearheaded the OVC's top-ranked defense this season, playing a team-high 1,635 minutes.

"It's really nice for her. Quite honestly, I think she was the best defender in the OVC this year," Nelson said.

Aubuchon, from St. Louis, leads the OVC with eight shutouts, which ties her for third on Southeast's single-season list. She also tops the conference in goals-against average at 0.71.

"She has been extremely solid," Nelson said.

Southeast senior midfielder Vanessa Hart earned second-team all-conference honors. The native of Australia, who missed last year with a knee injury, was fourth on the Redhawks with three assists. She also made second-team all-OVC as a freshman in 2007.

"She has stayed with it. She's an amazing team person," Nelson said.