ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond girls soccer team placed six players on the 2018 All-Sandhills Athletic Conference Team, the league announced Tuesday night.
Morgan Hooks, Tatum Hubbard, Hanna Millen, Jayana Nicholson, Allexis Swiney and Chloe Wiggins were all rewarded for their contributions to the Lady Raiders’ 17-win season — the most victories in a single season in program history.
Both Hooks and Nicholson, junior midfielders, are now two-time all-conference selections. Hooks was named to the 2016 squad after her freshman season and Nicholson received the honor following her sophomore campaign in 2017.
Millen, senior striker, finished this past season as Richmond’s lead goal scorer, netting a team-high 13 goals — four game-winning scores — in 22 games played. She recorded two hat tricks in three wins over Hoke County.
Wiggins, junior midfielder, tied with Hooks for second on the team in goals (12) and ended the year with a team-high 15 assists. Hooks scored three goals when Richmond hosted conference foe Seventy-First in the teams’ first meeting, and Wiggins poked four into the back of the net when the team visited Seventy-First in its regular-season finale.
Nicholson finished with a third-best nine goals, Hubbard was a force for the Lady Raiders on the defensive end of the field, and Swiney (114 saves) held her own in her first year as the team’s goalie.
Swiney was named Co-Goalkeeper of the Year alongside Jack Britt’s Lauren Harding.
Pinecrest also had six players make the all-conference team, one of them being Conference Player of the Year Molly Niewald — who scored a conference-high 47 goals, assisted on 15 other scores, and led the team to the conference’s regular-season and tournament championships without ever losing an SAC match.
The All-SAC team was released Tuesday following Pinecrest’s 2-1 loss to Myers Park in the NCHSAA 4A State Playoffs semifinal
Below is the full list of the 2018 All-Sandhills Athletic Conference girls soccer team and award winners:
PLAYER OF THE YEAR — Molly Niewald (Pinecrest)
CO-GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR — Lauren Harding (Jack Britt), Allexis Swiney (Richmond)
PINECREST — Riley Barrett, Kelly Clark, Keeley Copper, Lauren Landry, Molly Niewald, Natalie Sabiston
RICHMOND — Morgan Hooks, Tatum Hubbard, Hanna Millen, Jayana Nicholson, Allexis Swiney, Chloe Wiggins
JACK BRITT — Arianna Aguilar, Morgan Cloud, Callie Creech, Lauren Harding, Abby Heitkamp
PURNELL SWETT — Ashley Locklear, Layla Locklear, Abigail Lowery, Madison Oxendine
LUMBERTON — Logan Cameron, Brittany Ward
HOKE COUNTY — Skye Hammond, Leonie Howze
SCOTLAND — Sarah Eury
SEVENTY-FIRST— Maya Thomas