Record 4 Lady Railsplitters haul in United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region accolades

Published 1:27 pm Tuesday, December 10, 2019

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The awards keep rolling in.

On Monday, four Lincoln Memorial University women’s soccer players were tabbed to the United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region Team. Of those, Jessica Cravero garnered first team honors, while Maria Hernandez was tabbed second team followed by Thenia Zervas and Ermelinda Pantaleao taking home third team accolades.

The four honorees give the Lady Railsplitters three more than last season when Cravero was named to be third team. This group helped pace LMU to its second consecutive South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship and third since 2007 along with back-to-back NCAA Tournament berth and the winningest season since 1997 when that team had 17 wins as well.

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It also marks the most LMU women’s soccer players to be named to the trio of United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region teams since a combined three were named in 2008. Cravero hauls in the first team honor since Fernanda Miaci did in 2014 and is just the fourth to make it, while Hernandez is the sixth to be named to the second team and the first since Leanne Reid in 2011. Zervas and Pantaleao join Becky Thompson (2008) and Cravero (2018) as the third and fourth Lady Railsplitters on the third team all-time.

Leading LMU again as a sophomore, Cravero tallied a team-high 18 goals along with three assists in 22 games played, which also granted her All-SAC First Team honors. The Italian, who was also on the Division II Conference Commissioners Association All-Southeast Region First Team, finished her second season 12th best in the nation in goals scored while she is 19th in points scored (39).

Snubbed from the D2CCA All-Southeast Region team, Hernandez finds her way on the United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region team as a second team member after being an All-SAC first teamer. The senior from Los Angeles, Calif., started in every game she played (20) with a pair of goals and an assist.

Zervas, a junior from Kalamata, Greece, more than thrived in her first year in Blue and Gray. In 21 games, the defender recorded a nation’s third-best 17 assists, along with five goals, en route to her second all-region honor after receiving an honorable mention from the SAC.

Last but not least defender Pantaleao was impressive in her first season on the LMU back-defensive line, helping Emanuely Costa and the defense to 11 shutouts, including five over the last nine matches played. The Brazilian, who was named All-SAC First Team, also netted three goals and a pair of assists in 21 appearances this season to claim her second all-region spot.