Two Raiders grab NSCAA All-South Region honors

• NSCAA All-South Region Team

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee Soccer seniors Paige Goeglein and Regina Thomas earned All-South Region honors as announced by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) earlier this week.

Goeglein grabbed second team accolades, while Thomas notched a spot on the third All-South Region squad. The honor was the first for Goeglein. Thomas earned her second All-Region honor, joining Vanessa Mueggler as the Blue Raiders only two-time recipients.

Last month, Goeglein was named the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Year. She led the Blue Raiders, as well as the conference, in scoring with 14 goals and 32 points, putting her 19th nationally in scoring. Her eight game-winning goals were tied for first nationally. The Ft. Wayne, Ind., product was named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 4 and Oct. 16 and also earned weekly honors from College Sports Madness, College Soccer 360 and the Tennessee Sports Writers Association.

She became the first Blue Raider soccer player to earn Capitol One Academic All-America honors and only the fourth MT student-athlete in school history to garner a spot on the first team.

Goeglein concluded her illustrious career with 23 goals and 10 game-winning strikes. She finished fourth all-time at MT with a .172 shooting percentage and logged 5,773 minutes during her four year career.

Thomas earned third team honors after posting 16 points (five goals and six assists) in 20 matches. The redshirt senior connected on goal 64 percent of her attempts and finished with one game winner.
She closed out her career in several top 10 categories. Thomas was third in games played (82), fifth in shot percentage (.155) and sixth in assists (19). The Centennial, Colo., native wrapped up her career ninth all-time with 23 goals and 65 points.

"I'm really happy for Paige and Regina," said head coach Aston Rhoden. "Both performed well for us this year and are truly deserving of this recognition."

The Raiders compiled a 14-5-1 record in 2012 and snatched their second Sun Belt Conference regular season title in school history. Offensively, Middle Tennessee ranked second in scoring offensive with 2.85 goals per game.

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