April 19, 2011
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Six Illinois Women's Soccer student-athletes earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Academic All-District first or second team honors following their academic performances during the fall semester. Senior Jordan Hilbrands totaled First Team All-Central Region credit while junior Julie Ewing and seniors Alexandra Kapicka, Laura Knutson, Danielle Kot and Krystin Miller all placed on the All-Central Region Second Team. The six honorees from the 2010 squad mark the most Illini honored in one year. Illinois previously had five student-athletes garner NSCAA Academic All-District recognition in 2008 and 2009.
Hilbrands takes home her first NSCAA All-Central Region Academic award of her career following her final season. Hilbrands also finished as an Academic All-Big Ten team member in the previous two seasons. Hilbrands, a History major, played in seven games in 2011, suffering a leg injury that kept her on the sidelines for two months in the middle of the season. Hilbrands still tallied three goals on the year to finish her career with 24 points on 11 goals and two assists.
In addition to being named to the NSCAA Academic All-District list, Ewing received the Big Ten Distinguished Scholar Award in 2009 and was named to the Academic All-Big Ten teams following her sophomore and junior seasons. Ewing, a Communication student, has six points on a goal and four assists for her career, with her only point in 2010 coming on an assist of Shayla Mutz's goal against No. 23-nationally ranked Louisville during Illinois' shutout victory, 3-0.
Kapicka, a graduate of the Illinois Math and Science Academy, joins Ewing on the All-Central Region Second Team after filling the starting goalkeeper role for the third consecutive season. Kapicka, who will graduate with a degree in Engineering, was also recognized for her academic success with NSCAA All-Central Region Second Team awards following the 2008 and 2009 season and is a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree (2008-10).
Knutson earned her first NSCAA Academic All-District honor after previously being named to the Academic All-Big Ten teams after her junior and senior seasons. Knutson was awarded a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2007 after tallying five goals and one assist for 11 points. Knutson finished with 25 points on nine goals and seven assists over four years playing every position on the field for the Illini.
Kot was awarded her second scholarly honor from the NSCAA as the Psychology student earned recognition for her work in the classroom with NSCAA All-Central Region Third Team membership in 2009 and ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District laurels following the 2010 season. Kot, a three-time Academic All-Big Ten recipient, served as an interior defender on the Illinois defense that held opponents to 16 goals in 19 games - taking home Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors on Aug. 23 in recognition for her supremacy in the backfield.
Miller, a Cellular & Molecular Biology student, earned NSCAA All-Central Region Second Team accolades for the second consecutive season. Miller has also been awarded Academic All-Big Ten status from 2008-10 and ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District honors in 2009-10. Miller teamed with Kot to secure the center defense for Illinois, using her size and cerebral playing style to help lead the Illini to nine shutouts on the year. Miller was awarded Big Ten Co-Defender of the Week, Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week and College Soccer 360 Primetime Performer on Sept. 20 after she teamed with a group of Illini defenders, including Kot and Ewing, to hold opponents scoreless for 430 consecutive minutes.
The NSCAA released an initial Academic All-District and All-American list at the conclusion of the fall semester; however, a computing error kept some student-athlete ballots from being considered properly. The updated list rectifies the previous mistake by adding the deserving student-athletes to the list of those previously honored.
