Lien Le Claims SCAC Defensive Player of the Year; Joined Mencacci on 1st Team to Headline Crusader Honors

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - In exclusive voting by head coaches of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), the All-SCAC Awards and Teams were released this morning, Wednesday, May 5.

The University of Dallas women's soccer team's May Lien Le (Katy, Texas) was awarded the SCAC Defensive Player of the Year award. In addition, four Crusaders, including Le, were selected to the SCAC All-Conference Team. Alyssa Mencacci (League City, Texas) and Le were named All-SCAC First Team, and Macey Henderson (San Antonio, Texas) was named All-SCAC Second Team and Bekah Gonzalez (Reno, Nev.) was named All-SCAC Honorable Mention.

Coaches voted for 15 places for All-SCAC with 15 points awarded for first-place votes, 14 points for second-place votes, 13 points for third-place votes, etc., down to one point for a 15th-place vote. All players not elected to the First, Second or Third Team, but who received at least one vote, were named Honorable Mention. Coaches could not vote for their own players.

Le wins her third career All-SCAC award and her second for First Team. Le was named All-Second Team in 2018 as a freshman, and as a sophomore in 2019 she received her other First Team award. Le helped anchor a defense that only allowed multiple opponent goals twice all season, which included four shutouts. Le's defensive efforts helped quell the rampage of Centenary College of Louisiana who had started the season 6-0 and out-scoring opponents 16-1 during that span, and in mid-March Dallas handed the Ladies their first loss in a 1-0 game. Le, along with her defensive prowess, for the season had three shots and one assist for one point. Le was also one of eight Crusaders to start all nine games of the 2020-2021 season. 

Mencacci wins her second career All-SCAC award and her first for First Team. Mencacci was named All-Second team in 2019 as a Freshman, and was also the SCAC Newcomer-of-the-Year the same season. Mencacci's offensive presence aided the Crusaders to a 6-3 record and .667 winning percentage for the team's best winning percentage since 2005 when UD went 13-3 and winning percentage of .813. Mencacci led the Crusaders in both shots and shots on goal with 22 and nine, and scored two goals for four points, both of which were game winning goals against Austin College and the University of St. Thomas. Mencacci now has six career game winning goals. Additionally, UD's record in games when Mencacci scores improved to 9-0-1 in the two seasons Mencacci has been a part of the team.  Mencacci was also one of eight Crusaders to start all nine games of the 2020-2021 season.

Henderson wins her first career All-SCAC award in her first year on the team. Henderson earned four clean sheets this season and was pushed to the limit in a 1-0 overtime loss against eventually conference champions Trinity University. In the game against Trinity, Henderson had a season high 16 saves and kept the Tigers off the board for 95 minutes, the longest Trinity had been held scoreless up to that point this season. The only time longer was a few weeks later against Centenary in which the Tigers were held scoreless for over 109 minutes. Henderson was third in the SCAC in both shutouts and saves with the aforementioned four shutouts and 55 saves on the year. Henderson was also one of only two goalies in the SCAC to play in every minute of every game, and was also one of eight Crusaders to start all nine games of the 2020-2021 season.

Gonzalez wins her first career All-SCAC award in her third year on the team. Gonzalez, along with Le, was a member of the defensive line that helped the Crusaders achieve four shutouts this season. Along with her stout defensive play, Gonzalez also managed seven shots this season. Gonzalez was also one of eight Crusaders to start all nine games of the 2020-2021 season.

To see the full release, click here.