VWC’s Donnelly Tabbed Top Women’s Soccer Player

W&L’s Sutherland Top Rookie, Cunningham Coach of the Year

November 7, 2006

SALEM, Va. --- Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) women’s soccer tournament champion Virginia Wesleyan College put seven players on the postseason all-star teams,

W&L's Maggie Sutherland

including five on the All-ODAC First Team.  Midfielder Kelly Donnelly highlights the Marlins’ selections as she was named the conference’s 2006 Player of the Year.

Washington & Lee University’s Maggie Sutherland, one of a league-best nine selections, was tabbed the Rookie of the Year while General head coach Neil Cunningham was chosen as the Coach of Year.  Bridgewater College won the team Sportsmanship Award and in a vote conducted by the conference’s sports information directors, Lynchburg College’s Lauren Askey was named the Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Donnelly, a senior from Cranford, N.J., spearheaded the Marlins championship run from the middle of the pitch.  She notched three goals on the season to go with four assists for 10 total points, tied for fifth on the squad.  Sutherland, from a defender from Pittsburgh, Pa., was a major cog in a

LC's Lauren Askey

Washington & Lee defense that surrendered only two goals through the postseason.  She made her way up front several times, scoring once and helping on another for three points.

Lynchburg’s Askey, a junior defender from Baltimore, Md., was also named to the first team after scoring two goals and an assist while helping the Hornets into the ODAC postseason.  An athletic training major, Askey boasts a 3.96 grade point average.

Coach Cunningham finished his sixth season with the Generals, leading them to a 16-1-2 record through the ODAC postseason.  He has won two ODAC tournament titles at W&L and enjoys an 84-16-15 (.796) record in blue and white.  The Generals, along with Virginia Wesleyan, will continue their seasons this weekend in the 2006 NCAA Division III national soccer tournament.

2006 All-ODAC Women’s Soccer Teams

Player of the Year

Kelly Donnelly (M), Virginia Wesleyan

Rookie of the Year

Maggie Sutherland (B), Washington and Lee

Coach of the Year

Neil Cunningham, Washington and Lee

Scholar-Athlete of the Year

Lauren Askey (B), Lynchburg

Sportsmanship Award

Bridgewater College