Nov. 9, 2007

United Soccer Conference Tabs Seven Highlanders for Honors

OREM, UT - Seven members of the NJIT women's soccer team, headed by senior captain Dena Baskous, were honored as all-United Soccer Conference players in awards presented at the annual season-ending USC awards banquet host by Utah Valley in conjunction with this weekend's conference championship tournament.

The teams were chosen based on regular season play and were selected by the six conference head coaches. Brent Johnson of Utah Valley coordinated the awards for the six member schools--Delaware State, Howard, Longwood, South Carolina State and Utah Valley, in addition to NJIT.

The Highlanders, who finished third in the conference with a 2-2-1 regular season record in their first year of competition in the USC, had one player named to the all-conference first team, one named to the all-conference second team and five named to the all-conference third team.

Senior captain Dena Baskous was NJIT's first-team honoree. The back played three season for the Highlanders after playing her freshman year at nationally-ranked UConn. She was a stalwart on the NJIT defense, which allowed fewer than two goals per game overall and allowed a total of eight goals in five USC matches.

A tall, strong defender with excellent athletic ability, Baskous came forward and finished with a goal and two assists in 18 games as a senior. She finished her NJIT career with four goals and four assists in 50 games.

She was an all-conference and National Soccer Coaches Association of America all-New England Regional pick at the Division II level in 2005, her first season at NJIT.

Picked for the all-USC second team was Erika Taugher, NJIT's all-time leading scorer in women's soccer. Taugher had a goal and three assists for five points in 19 games this season.

Her totals in 53 career games are 13 goals, 11 assists and 37 points. Her goals total is tied for the all-time program lead, while her assists and total points are new standards for the Highlander women.

A decorated player in 2004 and 2005 for NJIT's last two Division II teams, Taugher missed all but one game in 2006, before rebounding with a strong 2007 season, as she led the Highlanders in assists.

The five Highlanders voted onto the all-conference third team were four freshmen and a redshirt sophomore.

The freshmen were: goalkeeper Sadie Mele, center back Michelle Borth and attacking players Kori Washington and Xiomara Medina. Emma Vinski, whose first season was plagued by knee problems that limited her to 13 games in 2005 and who missed all of 2006 following surgery, bounced back for an all-star 2007 campaign.

Mele played every minute in goal, chalking up a 1.90 goals against average, with a .769 save percentage. In 19 games, she had three shutouts, seven one-goal games and two two-goal games.

Vinski, who seemed to regain her old form as the 2007 progressed, finished as NJIT's second-leading scorer on three goals and an assist, for seven points.

Washington, one of the league's fastest players, led NJIT with 12 points on five goals and two assists and she was a dangerous attacker throughout the season.

Borth stood out on both ends of the field. Tall, strong and fast, she was a key player in NJIT's defensive revival. On offense, her 5-foot-10 height made her a threat in the air and her booming right foot made her dangerous from 35 yards on in.

The top conference honors were nearly swept by regular season champion Longwood. Todd Dyer was Coach of the Year, Anne Whitemore was Defensive Player of the Year and Alex Meyers was Rookie of the Year. Utah Valley's Jenni Clough broke the Lancers' monopoly on the big awards by taking Offensive Player of the Year.