Dec. 12, 2007

PENSACOLA, Fla. - Defense was the name of the game for West Florida Women's Soccer this season, and three defenders were rewarded with recognition by the Daktronics 2007 All-South Regional Selections. Goalkeeper Courtney Jones and Defender Marie Hastings were named as first team All-Region Selections, along with Forward Dernelle Mascall. Meanwhile, Freshman defender Linda Ganehed was a second team selection.

The West Florida defense put together a stretch of 900 minutes without giving up a goal, and Jones, Hastings, and Ganehad played an intregal part in that success. The defense put together a stretch of nine straight shutouts, and blanked their opponents in an amazing 13 out of 14 matches, during a stretch from September 7th to November 2nd. Jones was the conference leader in goals against average, and was among the leaders in the nation. The Sophomore from Panama City, recorded 14 shutouts this season to lead the conference. She had 25 career shutouts and is piling up an impressive resume of records.

Dernelle Mascall put together an impressive offensive resume this season for UWF, as she recorded 23 goals and 10 assists for a team leading 56 points. Mascall had twice as many goals as the entire UWF opponents combined for this season against the Argos. Three times this season, Mascall recorded a "hat trick" with three goals in one match. The Sophomore from Trinidad, now holds the UWF single season record for goals. Mascall led the entire Gulf South Conference in points, points per game, goals, and goals per game.

The team finished the regular season unbeaten in conference play and ranked 9th in the nation. The Argonauts helped the Gulf South Conference dominate the All-Region first team. Comprised of a First and Second Team of 11 members each, the Daktronics squad is in its second year of recognizing outstanding achievements in Division II Women's Soccer. This season the league had eight members chosen to the First Team, two to the Second and also claimed the South Region Player of the Year honor, as Montevallo midfielder Stacey Balaam won the Region's top honor while fellow Lady Falcon, defender Adele Jackson, joined her on the top squad. West Florida led the GSC in total selections with four. Argo goalkeeper Courtney Jones, defender Marie Hastings and forward Dernell Mascall tied Ouachita Baptist for the most First Team honors as Lady Tigers Sarah Reed (defender), Lauren Pierce (midfielder) and Joyce Hansen (forward) were OBU's honorees.

Senior Marie Hastings (Gainesville, Fla.), transferred from LSU to play her senior year for the Argonauts. She wasted no time becoming a top defender, and was recognized by the conference coaches and the media for a superior season at a position that often goes overlooked. Meanwhile, Linda Ganehed has learned a lot from Hastings and already has earned respect as a top defender with her second team selection.