Nine Bob Jones University women's soccer players were given All-Region recognition by the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) for their work on the field this season.

Lydia Howell, Margaret Cummings, Julia Hartzler, Shannon Miller, and Jane Farr were awarded first team all-region honors and Estrella Cruz, Madison Avelino, Amelia Peters, and Lily Davis were named to the all-region second team. 

In addition to earning a spot on the All-Region team, Lydia Howell was also named the NCCAA DII South Region Player of the Year. This season, she has scored nine goals to lead the Bruins to several key victories.

Margaret Provenzano has been named to the All-Region team for the fourth straight season after dominating as a goalkeeper again. She holds a 1.00 goals allowed average while having 69 saves so far this season.  Shannon Miller has shown herself as one of the most technically-sound players in the region, if not the nation, with her work in the Bruins midfield this season. Julia Hartzler and Jane Farr have been a force on the defensive side and haven't allowed that many big offensive plays from opponents.

Estrella Cruz is also given recognition for her defensive abilities this season as well and was named to the second team. Joining her in recognition are two more Bruins midfielders that have made an impact: Madison Avelino and Amelia Peters. Both of them have been able to find passing lanes all season and have been able to grow and become more confident. To round out the all-region recognition is forward Lily Davis. She has tallied four goals this year and will prove to be very important in the postseason.

"Our first and second team all-region players have been phenomenal and have helped our team through the tough times this season and have been extremely important in helping us to playing with excellence," Head Coach Chris Carmichael said. "They have worked incredibly hard this season and each are extremely talented and have been a huge part of our past successes and are now focused on finishing the race this season. They continue to exemplify the high quality of excellence that we demand from our players and they have continually stepped up and exceeded our expectations and we are very blessed to have them in our program."

Assistant Coach Mia Marks also complimented the players recognized: "Our players that received first and second team worked extremely hard to carry us to regionals and hopefully beyond! They are humble leaders and hard workers. We are so proud of them!"

These players look to lead the region's top-seeded Bruins to another region championship. They begin the region tournament today at 3:00 p.m. as they face #4 Alice Lloyd College, and the match will be played at Piedmont University.
 

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About Bob Jones University: BJU is a NCCAA Division II member featuring 13 varsity programs and over 200 student-athletes. Want to support our student-athletes? Click here to learn more.