ALL-AMERICAN HONORS

 

Capital University seniors Maggie Donnellan and Hilary Ells became the third and fourth student-athletes in women's soccer program history to earn All-America accolades Friday as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America announced its 2013 NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division III Women's All-America Teams.

Donnellan, a goalkeeper from Cincinnati, Ohio, earned first team accolades to become the first player in school history to earn first-team recognition. Ells, a forward from Grandview Heights, Ohio, garnered third team honors.

As two of the team's four captains, Donnellan and Ells have played an integral role in helping the Crusaders reach all-time heights in 2013. Capital enters the NCAA Tournament semifinals this weekend in San Antonio, Texas, with a school-record 19 wins and the program's first-ever appearance among the nation's final four teams.

The Crusaders shared the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season title before earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by virtue of their second OAC Tournament championship in three years. Ells tallied what proved to be the game-winning goal in the team's 4-0 victory over John Carroll in the title match on Nov. 10.

Capital's improbable road to San Antonio traveled through Wisconsin and St. Louis, Mo. The Crusaders defeated the University of Chicago and No. 16 Wisconsin-Whitewater to advance to their first-ever Round of 16, where they knocked of No. 14 Thomas More (Ky.) and top-ranked Washington (Mo.).

Against Washington, which hosted the sectional semifinals and final, Donnellan tallied a career-high 18 saves and helped the Crusaders defeat the Bears on penalty kicks, 3-2. After converting Capital's third penalty kick, Donnellan saved Washington's final attempt to send the Crusaders to the national semifinals.

Donnellan, who was named OAC Goalkeeper of the Year for the third straight season and recently earned NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region first team accolades, ranks 13th in the nation with a save percentage of .883. She enters play this weekend with a 19-4-2 record and has started in all 13 of Capital's shutouts, completing eight of them.

For her career, Donnellan is a four-time All-OAC selection, two-time all-region pick and a 2013 Academic All-OAC award winner.

Ells earned OAC Forward of the Year and first team all-conference. After missing the 2012 season due to injury, Ells picked up right where she left off as a second team All-OAC selection as a sophomore. Ells currently leads the OAC in both points (28) and goals (14), and has a team-best six game-winning goals in 2013. On Oct. 22 against Marietta, she became the first Crusader since 1999 to score four goals in a match.

A 2011 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District second team honoree, Ells has 65 points for her career.

Donnellan and Ells will be recognized Saturday, Jan. 18, at the annual All-America Luncheon, held in conjunction with the 2014 NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia. Those selected as All-Americans, their coaches and families can register online for the luncheon here.

Capital's duo represented the lone All-America selections from the OAC.

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA



Capital University senior Maggie Donnellan added another accolade to her decorated 2013 award slate Wednesday, earning first team National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Women's Scholar All-America (College Division) honors.

An education major, Donnellan maintained a 3.51 cumulative grade point average on a 4.0 scale through the end of the spring 2013 semester to earn one of 13 coveted spots on the first team. The goalkeeper from Cincinnati, Ohio, is one of two players in program history to be named an Academic All-American. Molly Sheils garnered second team honors in 2009.

"I am so happy for Maggie that she is being recognized for every aspect of her hard work," Capital coach Chris Kouns said. "In our program, we tell every prospective student-athlete that we expect you to be a winner on the field, in the classroom and in life. Maggie embodies all three areas."

To be eligible for nomination, student-athletes must have maintained at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA throughout their career, started more than 50 percent of all games and be a significant contributor to the team. The college division includes all NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA institutions.

Donnellan played a crucial role in the Crusaders' run to the NCAA Division III Tournament semifinals, as well as the team's Ohio Athletic Conference regular season championship and OAC Tournament title, in 2013.

One of four team captains, Donnellan was named OAC Goalkeeper of the Year and first team All-OAC after leading Capital to 11 shutouts during the regular season and conference tournament. After recording shutouts in Capital's first two NCAA Tournament matches to help send the team to the NCAA Round of 16 for the first time in school history, Donnellan posted 10 saves to help lead the Crusaders to a 2-1 triumph over No. 14 Thomas More (Ky.), then registered a career-high 18 saves and came up with several clutch plays as Capital knocked off No. 1 Washington (Mo.) in the national quarterfinals. She stopped three of five penalty kicks and converted a PK of her own as the Crusaders advanced to the NCAA semifinals, 3-2 on PKs, following a 1-1 tie through regulation and two overtimes.

Donnellan finished with a 19-5-2 record and led the conference in save percentage (.883) and total saves (151), with both marks ranking among the top 30 in the nation. She totaled eight solo shutouts and started in five others to help the team rank first in the league in shutout percentage (13 of 26, 50 percent).

After earning first team NSCAA/Continental Tire All-Great Lakes Region honors, Donnellan became the first player in school history to earn first team NSCAA Division III All-America accolades. She was also named Academic All-OAC and recently received first team Division III All-Ohio merits from the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association (OCSA).

All Academic All-Americans will be recognized Saturday, Jan. 18, at the annual All-America Luncheon, held in conjunction with the 2014 NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia.


Both stories provided by SID department and can be found on our website: http://athletics.capital.edu/sports/wsoc/index