Severson Headlines with USCAA All-Americans 1st Team; Mencacci and Lien Le take 2nd Team and Orozco named Honorable Mention
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA) released the 2019 Women's Soccer All-Americans on Friday night. Olivia Severson (La Crosse, Wis.) headlined a quartet of players from the University of Dallas women's soccer team with a First Team selection. Alyssa Mencacci (League City, Texas) and May Lien Le (Katy, Texas) qualified for the Second Team All-Americans list. Gigi Garcia Orozco (San Antonio, Texas) was tabbed with an Honorable Mention All-American.
This is the second year in a row that the UD women's soccer program placed all four nominations with All-American accolades. Lien Le was a repeat recipient, as she made first team her freshman season.
This group of four players were among the six that received Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) All-Conference Teams towards the end of last week.
Severson received her first All-American award with the Crusaders. The senior goalkeeper appeared in 18 matches and made 16 starts. Most of the campaign Severson was the lone goalie available on the Crusaders roster. She played 1550:21 minutes, made 77 saves on the season and sits fifth all-time in the program with 271 stops. Her 1.14 goals-against average ranks second in the USCAA. She earned a season-best eight shutouts, which included a five-game stretch without a goal surrendered. The duration of the scoreless streak between seven matches was 477:25 minutes. Severson was also a two-time recipient of USCAA Goalkeeper of the Week (Oct. 8, Oct. 22).
Mencacci took SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year after putting up 16 points and seven goals in the regular season. The freshman forward delivered the Crusaders second goal in the SCAC Quarterfinal that helped propel them to a semifinal match versus top-seeded Trinity University. Mencacci was a two-time USCAA Player of the Week winner (Sept. 24, Oct. 8). Dallas went 7-0-1 in games Mencacci scored. Four of her goals counted as game-winners.
Lien Le was the other Second Team All-American for Dallas. Lien Le did not show up on the stats sheet much this fall compared to her big collegiate debut season.. The sophomore was part of a defense that only allowed 22 goals (20 of them tied 2nd in SCAC with three other teams through the regular season). This included five shutouts that were part of a same-length winning streak in October that highlighted a 6-1 month. Overall, UD has amassed eight shutouts and held on for two ties after coming back in the second half. At one juncture, the Crusaders defense had not allowed a goal in 477:25 minutes.
Orozco rounded out the unit with an All-American Honorable Mention. Orozco dished a team-leading four assists on the year. She has played and started all 19 matches and been a fixture on the field. Orozco often has taken most of UD's 83 corner kicks. The Crusaders are 3-0-1 when the freshman has an assist.