December 12, 2008

For the third-consecutive year, the 22nd-ranked Emory University placed four players on the NSCAA/ adidas NCAA Division III Women's Soccer All-South Region Teams, as seniors Grace Lam, Alexa Wahr, and Whitney Briggs were named to the First Team, and Sarah Wilkerson earned a spot on the Second Team.

It marks the fourth time in the team's history that the squad has produced three All-Region First Team selections, a program record.  It is also the second-consecutive year the Eagles have placed three players on the First Team, the second time the program has achieved the feat (Emory also had three All-South First Team selections in 2000 and 2001).

Grace Lam anchored an Emory backline that allowed the Eagles outshoot opponents 375-135, and held opposing teams to a .0553 goals-against average, the 23rd-lowest in Division III.  In addition, she added four goals during the season for eight points.  Lam was one of four players to start all 21 games for Emory in 2008.  Earlier, Lam became the fourth member in the history of the Emory Women's Soccer program to be a two-time all-American, as the senior was named to NSCAA/ Adidas All-America Third Team for the second-straight season and also earned all-University Athletic Association (UAA) First Team honors for the second-consecutive season.  This is the second-consecutive year that Lam has been named to the all-region first team.

Alexa Wahr, a midfielder, finished the season with four goals and two assists for 10 points, tied for the fifth-best total on the team.  Both of Wahr's assists came on game-winning goals in UAA contests.  She recorded a two-goal game during Emory's 3-0 win over St. Mary's College of Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.  Wahr was also named to the all-University Athletic Association (UAA) First Team.  This is her second-consecutive all-region first team honor.

Earlier in the year, Whitney Briggs became the third player in the history of the Emory Women's Soccer Team to be named the University Athletic Association (UAA) Player of the Year.  She scored six goals and two assists for 14 points during the campaign, the second-best total on the team, including a team-best four game-winning goals.  Defensively, the co-captain helped lead an Emory backfield that allowed the Eagles outshoot opponents 375-135, and held opposing teams to a .0553 goals-against average, the 23rd-lowest in Division III.  Briggs' season was highlighted by her ‘golden goal' in the second overtime period of Emory's season finale against Carnegie Mellon University, which lifted the Eagles to a share of their fifth UAA Championship.  Briggs finished her three-year Emory career with 13 goals and six assists for 32 points.  This is her first all-Region honor.

In her first season as the Eagles' full-time starting goalkeeper, Sarah Wilkerson started all 21 games in goal for Emory, and played all but 135 minutes at the position.  Wilkerson's 0.544 overall GAA was the 23rd-lowest in Division III in 2008, and the eighth-lowest single season average in school history.  Her 16 wins (16-4-1 overall record) are the second highest single season total in school history, and Wilkerson's nine shutouts during the campaign are the third-most.  Earlier, Wilkerson was named to the all-University Athletic Association (UAA) First Team.  This is her first all-region selection.

Emory finished the 2008 season with a 16-4-1 record, after winning the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship, and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.