Four Seahawks Named to All-CAC Women’s Soccer Teams

York, Pa. - Four women's soccer players represented St. Mary's College of Maryland on the 2009 All-Capital Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Teams as announced Thursday morning by league commissioner, Tom Byrnes.

Senior Sophia Esparza (Silver Spring, Md./Montgomery Blair) headlined the quartet with her fourth consecutive first team nod while defenders Karisa Carroll (Long Island, N.Y./Ward Melville) and Allison Ahdieh (West Grove, Pa./Avon Grove) and freshman midfielder Liza Sitz (Silver Spring, Md./Blake) all earned a spot on the second team.

Esparza is the first Seahawk in program history to earn four first team All-CAC selections and just the fourth Seahawk to be named All-CAC all four seasons as Steph Karpinski '96, Christie Valentine '99, and Kathy Holmes '02 also accomplished the feat.

Esparza and Carroll helped lead St. Mary's to a four-year record of 36-30-7 (19-9-3 CAC) record as well as the program's first-ever CAC championship title and NCAA tournament berth in 2008.

This season, Esparza paced the Seahawks in scoring with team-highs of eight goals and 19 points while being second with three assists.  Within the CAC, the 5-7 midfielder ranked tied for fifth in goals per game (0.47), sixth in points per game (1.12), tied for sixth in goals, and seventh in points.  Esparza registered season-highs of two goals three times while notching a season-best five points on two goals and an assist in a 3-0 win at McDaniel.

Esparza finishes her career with 57 points on 23 goals and 11 assists, having started all 72 games played in during her four-year career.  Along with earning first team All-CAC as a freshman, she was tabbed the 2006 CAC Rookie of the Year as well.  Last season, Esparza was selected to the NSCAA/adidas® Division III All-Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team.

Carroll is now a two-time second team All-CAC after garnering the honor last year.  The 5-3 team captain led a Seahawk defense that conceded 1.88 goals per game while posting three shutouts.  Carroll assisted on the game-winning goal as SMCM posted a 3-0 shutout of Marymount (Va.).

Carroll ends her career having started all 71 games played in during her four-year stint and tallying nine points on two goals and five assists.  Last season, she was an honorable mention NSCAA/adidas® College Women Scholar All-East Region after excelling in the classroom with a 3.76 GPA as a chemistry major/Spanish minor.

Ahdieh is picking up her first all-conference award after joining Carroll on the defensive line and holding opponents to 1.88 goals per game and recording three shutouts.  Starting all 16 games played in this season, the 5-7 sophomore excelled in her new position after making the move to defense from the central midfield.

Sitz had a strong rookie campaign for the Seahawks, finishing third in scoring with 10 points on five goals.  She found the back of the net twice in a 4-0 blanking of Hood while scoring the game-winner in a 3-0 win at McDaniel.

St. Mary's finished the 2009 run with a 6-10-1 (4-3-1 CAC) record, falling 2-1 in overtime to the eventual CAC champion, Mary Washington, in the first round.