While Gracie Armstrong was a member of Northwestern State for a single season, she left a mark among legends at the university, and that continued Friday, as she was named Louisiana Sports Writers Association’s All-Louisiana Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year.
Armstrong leads four Lady Demons on the first team, as she was joined by Olivia Draguicevich, Natalee Henry and Chloe DeShazer, which was voted on by sports information directors in the state and media members.
Armstrong, who is currently playing overseas with Austria’s FC Pinzgau, is the second NSU athlete in as many seasons to be named All-Louisiana Player of the Year, joining Draguicevich, who won it following the 2021 season.
A transfer from Colorado State, Armstrong scored 26 points en route to being named Southland Conference Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. She tallied nine goals and eight assists.
Her eight assists led the conference and were 25th nationally, leading the Lady Demons to a 12-4-3 season, their second-best winning percentage in program history and a second-place finish in the conference.
Even after being named the conference player of the year, she turned it up a notch in the conference tournament, scoring four goals and being named to the all-tournament team.
A repeat selection, Draguicevich capped off her remarkable NSU career by leading the conference in points with 28 (21st nationally), earning her a second consecutive SLC Forward of the Year honor.
She finished her career by owning NSU career records in career goals scored (37), conference goals scored (25), game-winning goals (17) and conference game-winning goals (14). The native of Pflugerville, Texas, tallied a hat trick against Southeastern Louisiana in her final home game to break the goals record, one of three hat tricks recorded in 2022 by Draguicevich.
Natalee Henry had her hand in both the offense and defense. She recorded three goals and six assists for 12 points, the third-most on the team. That total only trailed Armstrong and Draguicevich on the tean, helping lead the Lady Demons score their most goals (44) since 2005. Her six assists ranked in the top 100 nationally.
The SLC First Team All-Conference selection helped lead a back line that held opponents to five or fewer shot attempts in 13 of the 19 games.
DeShazer was voted as the goalkeeper on the All-Louisiana First Team. It is the third consecutive season an NSU keeper was honored on the team, joining Acelya Aydogmus, who was chosen to the team following both the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
She was a stalwart in net for the Lady Demons, playing every minute of every game. The Colorado-Colorado Springs transfer surrendered just 14 goals for a .73 goals against average, which was the second-best mark in the SLC and second in program history for a single season.
DeShazer posted eight shutouts in 2022, which was the third-most in school history for a single season. The Second Team All-SLC selection recorded one of her shutouts at Lamar for the only defeat of the regular season for the Cardinals.
In addition to the four players named to the first team, Hallie Field and Nicole Henry were also honorable mention selections.
The pairing was instrumental for the NSU defense that contributed to eight shutouts and limited shot attempts for opponents. Field aided the offense as well, scoring five goals, which was third on the team. She also recorded a goal in three straight games, which helped her earn SLC Offensive Player of the Week.
The four members on the team are the most out of any school. LSU was the only other school with multiple athletes selected with three.
LSU collected the other two superlatives, as Ida Hermannsdottir was named freshman of the year and Sian Hudson garnered coach of the year honors.
2022 All-Louisiana Women’s Soccer Team
Player of the Year: Gracie Armstrong, Northwestern State
Newcomer of the Year: Gracie Armstrong, Northwestern State
Freshman of the Year: Ida Hermannsdottir, LSU
Coach of the Year: Sian Hudson, LSU
First Team
Name | School | Pos. | Cl. | Hometown
Gracie Armstrong | Northwestern State | MF | Gr. | Broomfield, Colo.
Ida Hermannsdottir | LSU | MF | Fr. | Reykjavik, Iceland
Mya Guillory | Southeastern | MF | Sr. | Prairieville, La.
Flavie Dube | Louisiana Tech | F | Fr. | Ottawa, Ont., Canada
Lindsi Jennings | LSU | D | Sr. | Conroe, Texas
Emma Monnet | Louisiana Christian | F | So. | Yzeure, France
Wasila Diwura-Soale | LSU | MF | Sr. | Accra, Ghana
Inge Konst | ULM | F | So. | Balk, Netherlands
Olivia Draguicevich | Northwestern State | F | Sr. | Pflugerville, Texas
Natalee Henry | Northwestern State | D | Gr. | Tomball, Texas
Chloe DeShazer | Northwestern State | GK | Sr. | Kansas City, Mo.
Honorable Mention: Hallie Field, Northwestern State; Emma Jones, Louisiana Tech; Lena Goppel, ULM; Angelina Thoreson, LSU; Kalli Matlock, Louisiana Tech; Nicole Henry, Northwestern State; Mara Grutkamp, ULM; Gabby McDonald, Centenary; Rachel Young, McNeese; Karleen Bedre, Louisiana; Mollie Swift, LSU.
