Not only did the Northwestern State soccer team succeed on the field this past fall, but it performed even better in the classroom.
Due to the latter, five Demons were named Academic All-Southland Conference, the league announced on Jan. 14.
Taylor Spitzer led the way as the Demons first team selection, while twin sister Jessica Spitzer, Emma Pethel, Libe Banuelos and Alina Graf earned second team accolades.
Spitzer, a junior from Allen, Texas, was a first team All-SLC selection after scoring seven goals and dishing out six assists for a team-high 20 points, 16 of which came during conference play. She was named conference player of the week once.
Perhaps her biggest moment came in the SLC Tournament, scoring in double overtime to give the Demons a 2-1 win over Southeastern Louisiana.
She did all of that while sporting a 3.782 GPA while majoring in communications.
It is Taylor’s second consecutive first team academic selection.
Jessica Spitzer is also a repeat selection after earning a second team selection in the postseason.
One of four Demons to start all 21 games, Spitzer was a part of a defense that recorded seven shutouts, including six in a row at one point. She was named SLC Defensive Player of the Week during the season.
In addition to her defense, she also contributed offensively as well, scoring two goals and recording two assists for six total points.
In the classroom, she posted a perfect 4.0 GPA while majoring in biology.
Spitzer was one of three defenders to make the team for the Demons, as she was joined by Graf and Pethel.
Graf, a senior from Germany, was also part of that defense that posted seven clean sheets. After one of them against Nicholls, she was named SLC Defensive Player of the Week.
In the dominant Senior Day win over Mississippi Valley State, she scored her first career goal as a Demon on a penalty kick. She also recorded four assists, which was tied for third on the team.
Graf dominated in the classroom with a perfect 4.0 GPA while majoring in business administration.
Like Graf and Spitzer, Pethel was also named SLC Defensive Player of the Week during the season. The lone Demons freshman to be named to the team also played in and started all 21. Like Graf, Pethel also dished out four assists.
In the classroom, she posted a perfect 4.0 GPA while majoring in psychology.
The senior Banuelos rounds out the honorees, as the goalkeeper posted four solo shutouts and two combined ones, helping her earn two SLC Goalkeeper of the Week awards.
She made 97 saves, including 11 in the season opener against SMU.
In the classroom, she posted a 3.609 GPA while majoring in biology.
Stephen F. Austin’s Ella Morgan was named SLC Student-Athlete of the Year, as the Lumberjacks’ nine selections are the only team with than the Demons’ five.
First Team
Alexa Huerta, HCU
Erica Defferding, UIW
Sierra Wannamaker, UIW
Arely Alaniz, Lamar
Taylor Spitzer, Northwestern State
Jayme Bailey, SFA
Maddie Bowers, SFA
Ava Shannon, SFA
Brielle Buchanan, SFA
Ella Morgan, SFA
Avery Brandt, SFA
Hadley Williams, SFA
Hannah McCord, Southeastern
Second Team
Melissa Storey, East Texas A&M
Olivia Rossman, HCU
Ellie Mai Sanford, UIW
Trinity Clark, Lamar
Jackie Kelly, McNeese
Alina Graf, Northwestern State
Libe Banuelos, Northwestern State
Emma Pethel, Northwestern State
Jessica Spitzer, Northwestern State
Cassidy Hoang, SFA
Sierra McCluer, SFA
Mai-Lisa Atis, A&M-Corpus Christi
Cilia Leal, A&M-Corpus Christi
Student Athlete of the Year: Ella Morgan, SFA
