March 9, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Elite Eight Texas A&M soccer team held its 16th annual awards banquet on Sunday afternoon at The Zone Club at Kyle Field.
Each year the banquet highlights the academic and athletic accomplishments of several players and staff members, including honors received from various soccer media organizations and associations outside Texas A&M University.
The awards presented at the banquet ranged from position MVP's, who contributed to the team's success on the field, to those accolades which highlighted the athlete who most exemplified the spirit of Aggieland.
In 2008, the Aggies secured their 14th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament advancing to the quarterfinals of the championship before falling in double overtime to the eventual National Champions, North Carolina. A&M finished the season ranked seventh in the nation with an 18-5-1 record.
Five Aggies earned Big 12 postseason awards including Becca Herrera (Big 12 All-Newcomer team) and freshman Emily Peterson (All-Central Region second team) and sophomore Laura Grace Robinson was selected to the Academic All-District second team.
The 2008 team awards were presented as follows:
Leading Scorer: Emily Peterson
Newcomer of the Year: Jennifer Kmezich (Given to the non-starter who made the largest contribution on the field)
Spirit Of Aggieland: Micah Stephens (Given to the player with the "never say die" attitude, overcoming all obstacles)
The Aggies' spring began with the Aggies' annual 7v7 tournament on Feb. 22, in which A&M went 3-0. The Aggies have plenty of spring games left with TCU (March 29), NCAA Tournament teams LSU and BYU (April 4), followed by Big 12 Tournament Champions Oklahoma State (April 10). Stephen F. Austin and another NCAA Tournament team, Marquette (April 18) are the final matches of the non-traditional season.