Southeast Missouri State's Abbott is selected OVC soccer's top defender

Four Southeast Missouri State soccer players were recognized Wednesday by being named to all-Ohio Valley Conference teams.

Headlining the list was senior defender Hayley Abbott, honored as the conference's defensive player of the year along with making the all-OVC first team.

Senior defender Ali Bauer was named to the all-OVC second team while senior goalkeeper Renee Kertz and freshman defender Paige Luehmann were placed on the conference's all-newcomer squad.

Voting, done by the league's coaches and sports information directors, was announced on the eve of the OVC tournament in Martin, Tenn.

Abbott, a native of Australia, has started every game of her four-year career with the Redhawks, a total of 74. She is the program's all-time leader in starts and minutes played.

Abbott also earned first-team all-OVC accolades following her freshman and sophomore seasons. She was an OVC all-tournament selection last year.

In addition to her defensive prowess -- she helped Southeast hold opponents to one goal or less 14 times this season -- Abbott has a career-high six points on two goals and two assists. She has played 1,805 of a possible 1,810 minutes this year.

"Hayley has had an amazing career. It's certainly fitting for her to win defensive player of the year," Southeast coach Heather Nelson said. "She was a finalist two previous years [following her freshman and sophomore seasons] and to finally win it as a senior is great."

Bauer, from St. Charles, Mo., has also been a four-year starter for the Redhawks. In addition to her strong defense, she has one goal and one assist for three points this season.

"I'm very excited for Ali. She's been a very versatile, solid player for us," Nelson said.

Kertz, a St. Louis native, was a four-year standout in softball for Southeast who joined the soccer program this season for her final year of collegiate eligibility.

Kertz has five shutouts and an 0.78 goals-against average. Her .880 save percentage leads the league while her goals-against average is second.

Kertz has a 0.50 goals against average, three shutouts and a .924 save percentage in her past 10 appearances (nine starts). She posted a 0.59 goals-against average, three shutouts and a league-best .917 save percentage in OVC play.

"Renee has had a fantastic year. She probably achieved even more than I anticipated when she joined the program," Nelson said.

Luehmann, from Granite City, Ill., has a team-leading four assists this season, tied for sixth in the OVC. All four of her assists have come during conference games, tying her for second in the league.

"We've counted on freshmen quite a bit this year and Paige in particular has really performed her best during the OVC season," Nelson said.

Abbott also earned OVC defensive player of the year honors from CollegeSportsMadness.com., which named Luehmann first-team all-OVC.

Tourney begins today

The Redhawks, who finished fourth in the 11-team OVC, will enter the six-team league tournament with momentum as they are 4-0-1 in their last five games.

Fourth-seeded Southeast (6-9-4, 5-3-2) plays fifth-seeded Belmont (8-8-2, 4-4-2) at 4 p.m. today. The squads tied 0-0 during the regular season in Nashville, Tenn.

Southeast overcame plenty of adversity to end the regular season strong. The Redhawks were hit with the horrific tragedy of Meg Herndon's death and lost several top players due to injury.

"It's amazing how strong and passionate these players have been. It's a real credit to them. We've overcome so much. I couldn't be prouder of them," Nelson said. "They're already champions in my mind."

Today's other first-round game pits third-seeded Eastern Kentucky (10-7-2, 6-3-1) against sixth-seeded SIU Edwardsville (7-7-3, 4-4-2) at 7 p.m.

Top-seeded, host Tennessee-Martin (11-5-3, 8-1-1) and second-seeded Austin Peay (11-7-1, 7-2-1) earned byes into Friday's semifinals. The championship is at 1 p.m. Sunday, with the winner earning an NCAA tournament berth.

If the Redhawks beat Belmont today, they'll play OVC regular-season champion Tennessee-Martin at 4 p.m. Friday.