Beavers Notch 14 All-Academic honors

November 29, 2017 | Women's Soccer

Baker and Nickerson earn second-team recogntion

By: Athletic Communications

CORVALLIS – The Oregon State women's soccer team had an impressive 14 players earn Pac-12 All-Academic honors, the conference office announced Wednesday.

Redshirt senior Kathryn Baker (environmental engineering major) and sophomore Nicole Nickerson (pre-civil engineering) both earned second-team recognition. Baker was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team earlier this year, after starting every game she played over the course of her career. This is Baker's third Pac-12 All-Academic honor.

Nickerson notches her first academic honor in her first year eligible for the award. The midfielder saw the field in all 19 games this season, making 17 starts.

Bella Geist (biology), Allison Pantuso (psychology), Jessi Witherington (kinesiology), Kayla Latham (marketing), Nikki Faris (marketing), Natalie Higgins (digital communication arts), Diana Santiago (exploratory studies), Emmy Rodriguez (marketing), Taylor Lemmond (mechanical engineering), Emery Wallerich (exploratory studies), Ashleigh Fonsen (psychology) and Emma Jones (digital communication arts) all earned All-Academic Honorable Mention.

Geist is Oregon State's record holder for career saves, and will go down as one of the best goalkeepers in Pac-12 history. Pantuso just completed her junior season, starting every match, and helping lock down the Oregon State back line. Witherington made five starts and 13 appearances on the season.

Latham started every match this season, serving as a box-to-box midfielder. Faris also started every match on the year, and has been credited by head coach Linus Rhode as one of the hardest workers on the team.

Higgins has been the Beavers' top playmaker in the midfield since joining the team four years ago. Santiago appeared in 18 games, highlighting her year with a goal at Arizona State. Rodriguez has been a fixture of the Oregon State defense throughout her career.

Lemmond started seven games, and scored an impressive road goal at UCLA. Wallerich saw time in the final 11 matches of the year, including six starts – primarily at fullback. Jones started every match on the year, scoring three game-winning goals, all from set-pieces.

Oregon State's honorees included five three-time award winners (Baker, Geist, Faris, Higgins, and Latham), as well as a pair of two-time honorees (Rodriguez and Pantuso).

For updates on Oregon State women's soccer, follow the team on Twitter or Instagram @BeaverWSoccer.

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