St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 26, 2015 – Washington University in St. Louis junior goalkeeper Lizzy Crist, Wayzata, Minn. (Minnetonka)was named the 2015 D3soccer.com Goalkeeper of the Year to highlight a pair of first-team All-Americans for WashU, as announced Tuesday by the website.
Crist and senior midfielder Olivia Lillegraven, Coronado, Calif. (Coronado) were each named to the Sixth Annual D3soccer.com All-America First Team.
Crist joins Lillegraven and junior forward Katie Chandler, Fall City, Wash. (Holy Names Academy), who both earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) First-Team honors, as the first trio in school history to earn first-team accolades in the same season.
Crist posted an 18-3-1 overall record with a 0.42 goals against average and tied a WashU single-season school record with 11 shutouts. She was named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Defensive Player after making 12 saves in the two games at the Final Four. Crist was instrumental in the Bears’ elimination of undefeated and top-ranked Messiah College in the national semifinal when she made five saves and stopped four penalty kicks in the deciding shootout.
A first-team all-UAA and second-team all-region selection, she ranked eighth in NCAA Division III in save percentage (.903) and 12th in goals against average (0.42). Crist helped WashU tie the program’s single-season school record with 16 shutouts, and was named the UAA Defensive Athlete of the Week three times.
“Lizzy had an incredible season in goal and made some big saves throughout the season,” said WashU head coach Jim Conlon. “She was asked to do many things on the field, and did them all at an extremely high level.”
Lillegraven led the team and the UAA in scoring with 12 goals and five assists for 29 points. She also led the conference in game-winning goals with six, netting game-winners in victories over NCAA Tournament qualifiers Wartburg College (9/12), No. 23 Wheaton College (Ill.) (9/26) and No. 19 University of Chicago (11/7).
Lillegraven was the 2015 UAA Most Valuable Player, and also a first-team all-Central Region and all-conference selection. She was a four-time UAA Athlete of the Week honoree, and ranks third in school history in game-winning goals (14), eighth in goals scored (31) and ninth in points (77). Lillegraven was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team following the Bears’ runner-up finish.
“Olivia had an outstanding season transcending from her natural forward position to center midfield,” Conlon said. “She was a beast in the air and an absolute goal-scoring threat coming from the midfield.”
The All-America teams were chosen by D3soccer.com staff, Division III soccer coaches and sports information directors from a field of more than 300 nominations.
WashU tied a single-season school record with a 20-3-1 overall record, and finished as the 2015 NCAA Division III National Runner-Up. The Bears advanced to the Final Four for the third time in school history and claimed a share of their 10th UAA title.
