Four Blue Raiders earn All-Tournament honors

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Four Blue Raider standouts earned a spot on the Middle Tennessee Classic All-Tournament team after helping lead their squad to the championship with a 4-1 win against Jacksonville State Sunday afternoon at Blue Raider Field.

Holly Grogan and Ingrid Christensen highlight the 12-person team, which was selected by a five-member committee, as they were voted the tournament's offensive and defensive most valuable players, respectively. Blue Raider forward Kala Morgan and defender Sara Wohlhueter also were named to the All-Tournament team.

"All four players performed extremely well in both games," Middle Tennessee coach Aston Rhoden said. "Sara and Ingrid have been steady in the back; Holly continues to score quality goals for us, and Kala has had great games at Blue Raider Field this year. The good thing about our team is the tournament committee could have actually picked six or seven players other than the ones selected because several performed well.

"We are very excited about the ones who received recognition but the bigger win for us is that we played a good Jacksonville State team and continued to play well."

Also earning spots on the All-Tournament team were: Kristin Cochiarella, Kellie Walker, Meredith Goodson, Western Kentucky; Kayla Lambert, Heidi Gray, and Nicole Zygmontowicz, Evansville; Daniela Malta and Tiffany Julien, Jacksonville State.

Grogan was a unanimous selection as Offensive MVP after scoring three goals and adding an assist for seven total points in the two games, making her the highest-scoring player in the field.

Christensen also was a factor with her aggressive and stingy play in the back as she won the Defensive MVP. Christensen, along with all-tournament pick Wohlhueter, helped anchor a Blue Raider defense that allowed just 20 total shots in the two matches, while surrendering just two goals.

Morgan also continued her fine work to earn a spot on the 12-person team as she tallied a goal, two assists, and helped fuel a Blue Raider offense that outscored its two opponents 7-2 and generated a whopping 48 shots in the two games.

Western Kentucky's Cochiarella was also an offensive highlight as she scored three of the Lady Hilltoppers' four goals in the tournament, including the winner in a 1-0 overtime triumph against Evansville Sunday. Cochiarella was credited with the game-winning goal in each of her team's wins. Walker assisted Cochiarella on all three of her goals to earn All-Tournament recognition, while Goodson was solid in goal with 13 saves and one shutout in her team's two matches.

Evansville was highlighted by the play of Lambert, who scored in her seventh straight match against Middle Tennessee Friday; however, her impressive streak ended against Western Kentucky.

2006 Middle Tennessee Classic
All-Tournament Team
Ingrid Christensen - Middle Tennessee
Holly Grogan - Middle Tennessee
Kala Morgan - Middle Tennessee
Sara Wohlhueter - Middle Tennessee
Kristin Cochiarella - Western Kentucky
Kellie Walker - Western Kentucky
Meredith Goodson - Western Kentucky
Kayla Lambert - Evansville
Heidi Gray - Evansville
Nicole Zygmontowicz - Evansville
Daniela Malta - Jacksonville State
Tiffany Julien - Jacksonville State

Offensive MVP - Holly Grogan, Middle Tennessee
Defensive MVP - Ingrid Christensen, Middle Tennessee

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