Nov. 3, 2009
NASHVILLE, Tenn. â€â€ Senior Megan Forester, junior Molly Kinsella and freshman Chelsea Stewart earned All-Southeastern Conference honors as voted by the coaches and released by the league office today.
Forester, a Hendersonville, Tenn., native, picked up first-team honors while Kinsella, a Memphis, Tenn., native, earned second-team plaudits. Stewart, a Highlands Ranch, Colo., native was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
“I am excited that these three were recognized as being among the top players in the Southeastern Conference and as coaches we couldn’t be more proud,” said Vanderbilt head coach Ronnie Woodard.
Forester, a four-year starter, earned league recognition for the first time in her career. The defender has played an instrumental role this season as a team captain and has provided leadership in the Commodores late season run to the conference tourney. She has scored two goals while also recording a career-best seven assists on the year. Her assist total is fifth best in the league. Defensively she has been a stalwart on the backline and helped spark the team to four consecutive shutout wins entering tourney play.
“I think that Megan’s all-conference award is such a special honor for not only her but for our team,” said Woodard. “Megan is a true testament that dedication and hard work through four years of college will payoff with some honors and accolades. Even though I know she doesn’t do it for the honors, I am just so thrilled she had the opportunity as a defender to be recognized for what a great year she had.”
Kinsella, a three-year starter, is picking up league honors for the third straight year. She was named to All-Freshmen team in 2007 and was a first-team all-league pick a year ago. The junior midfielder led the team in scoring her first two years in Nashville and did so again in 2009 with six goals and a career-high eight assists (20 points). She is in the top five in the league in shots (3rd), shots per game (4th) and points (5th) entering Wednesday’s play. In addition, her assist total is third best in the league this year.
“I am thrilled that Molly stayed in the all-conference voting because she has been hampered with injuries this year,” said Woodard. “She has played through a tremendous amount of pain and again I think it’s a great tribute that she was recognized by the other coaches for the impact she made to our team.”
Stewart came into Vanderbilt as one of the most highly touted recruits in recent Commodore history. She spent last year playing for both the Canadian U-20 soccer club as well as the National Team. The freshman started in 17 of the team’s 19 games, missing time due to a nose injury suffered during the Georgia contest on Oct. 4. She had three goals and an assist in the regular season.
“I love the future of Chelsea in our lineup the next three years,” said Woodard. “It’s so encouraging to have a young player in her first year be honored by the coaches in our league.”
The Commodores are at the SEC tournament this week in Orange Beach, Ala. VU will face No. 2 seed LSU (12-4-3, 8-2-1 SEC) in the first game of the tourney on Wednesday at Noon. The 16th-ranked Tigers edged Vanderbilt, 2-1 in overtime, when the teams met on Oct. 11 in Nashville.
