KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Ahead of their first round conference tournament battle, nine Fort Hays State women’s soccer student-athletes have earned All-MIAA mentions for the 2018 season. The list was released by the conference office on Wednesday (Oct. 31). One player captured First Team honors, while three Tigers landed on the Second Team alongside two Third Team placements and three Honorable Mentions.
Senior midfielder Vianei Sanchez garners her first-career All-MIAA honor after being named to the First Team. Sanchez, a McKinney, Texas product, has produced four goal and four assists in her final season as a Tiger. The senior has started in all 18 matches for the Tigers, accumulating 1,487 total minutes on the pitch for the year. For the season, Sanchez has a produced a shot percentage of .222 after attempting 18 shots with 10 on goal.
Receiving Second Team honors were junior goalkeeper Megan Kneefel, junior midfielder Chloe Montano and freshman forward Cailey Perkins. All three have earned their first-career MIAA honor.
Kneefel, a native of Aurora, Colo., has put together a season record of 8-5-2 for her junior campaign, while collecting 72 saves in 185 shots faced. Kneefel has posted four shut-outs so far this season. Montano, a junior transfer from Calabasas, Calif., has been a steady part of the FHSU offense as she has netted three goals in her first season as a Tiger. Montano has clocked four assists to add 10 points to her stats. Her three goals came in a hat-trick earlier in the season, a 4-1 FHSU win over Southwest Minnesota State. Rounding out the Second Team honors is Perkins, a Manhattan, Kan. product. Perkins leads the Tigers in goals and assists with seven in each category to total 21 points for the season. Perkins has attempted 34 shots in her 18 starts for FHSU. Her seven goals places her at No. 7 in the MIAA.
Two new faces to the Tiger program captured Third Team honors as freshman Emily Naysmith and junior transfer Nikita Woods earned their first MIAA mentions. Naysmith, a defender from Broomfield, Colo., Naysmith has accumulated 1,156 total minutes on the pitch this year for the Tigers, and has earned a start in 12 matches while leading an FHSU defense which has recorded six shutouts. Woods, a native of Corrimal, Australia is second on the team in assists with six. The midfielder has scored one goal to calculate eight points in her first Tiger season. Woods has started all 18 matches for the Tigers and has tallied 1,382 minutes played.
Defenders Shayla Podlena and Zariah Smith, as well as forward Darby Hirsch, complete the Tiger mentions alongside their Honorable Mentions. Podlena, a native of Topeka, Kan., earns her first MIAA honor after anchoring the defense for the Tigers. She has recorded two assists in her 961 minutes played. Smith, out of Aurora, Colo., also played an integral part on the defensive side for FHSU. The sophomore earned her first-career goal in a 1-0 win against Missouri Western earlier this season. Smith also contributed to two Tiger goals off her assists this season.
Hirsch, a junior out of Topeka, Kan., notches her first All-MIAA honor following a team second-best goal total of four on the season. Hirsch has also followed through on four assists in her 1,033 minutes played during her junior campaign. Hirsch has attempted 33 shots with 16 hitting on goal.