Nov. 1, 2006
The final record of the George Mason women's soccer team isn't the only thing that improved between the 2005 and 2006 seasons. The Patriots also had a triumphant return to the All-Colonial Athletic Association teams as four Patriots were honored on Wednesday night for their accomplishments this past season.
Junior defender Laura Salichs was named first-team All-CAA while junior forward Rachel Wiggins and junior midfielder L.J. Williams received second-team All-CAA honors. Freshman midfielder Leslie Cabe found a spot on the CAA All-Rookie Team. The four awards come just one season after the Patriots were shutout of the year-end awards for the first time in school history.
Salichs was one of three defenders chosen to the first team. She was a CAA Player of the Week for the week ending Oct. 8 and she was also selected to the Soccer Buzz National Elite Team of the Week after Mason earned back-to-back shutouts on the road. Salichs was tied for third on the team with three assists this season.
Wiggins set career highs for goals, assists and points as she had nine goals, five assists and 23 points. She was fourth in the conference in points, fifth in assists and sixth in goals. She also was named to the D.C. Invitational All-Tournament Team. She now has 17 goals and 13 assists in her career for 47 points. That puts her tied for 10th all-time at Mason in career points. She is two goals shy of breaking the career top-10 list in that category.
Williams returned to the field this season after missing the 2005 campaign with a medical redshirt. She was second on the team in goals, with five, and tied for third in assists, with three. She started in the midfield in all but one game for the Patriots. Mason was 8-8-2 with her on the field and she was named to the D.C. Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Cabe was second on the team in assists, with four. That placed her tops on the team among first-year players. She also led first-year players in points, with six. Cabe had a game-winning goal in Mason's 4-2 win over Georgia State. She was second on the team among first-year players in goals, with one. She appeared in 18 games for Mason, starting 17 of those contests and she was selected to the Virginia Nike Soccer Classic All-Tournament Team.
William & Mary's Claire Zimmeck was named Player of the Year, Hofstra's Sue Weber, an All-American in 2005, was named Defensive Player of the Year and Northeastern's Sophia Palmquist was chosen as Rookie of the Year. Paul Cairney of UNC Wilmington and John Daly of William & Mary shared the Coach of the Year Award.
