NATCHITOCHES—Defender Nicole Henry leads a group of five Northwestern State players to be selected to the All-Southland Conference teams, the conference announced Monday.

Henry, a sophomore from Tomball, Texas, was chosen as a first team selection, as well as winning the honor as the conference's Defender of the Year.

"We have had lots of recognition defensively in players of the week this year, so it is really great to cap it off with Nicole taking home the best recognition you can imagine," co-head coach Jess Jobe said.

On the second team are Nicole's sister Natalee Henry as well as freshman midfielder Olivia Mattsson. Defender Hallie Field and forward Jalen Donaldson were chosen for the third team.

The five players honored on the All-Conference teams is the most since 2005 when the Lady Demons had seven players selected.

We're really happy to have these five players get some recognition by the conference with their success and what they've meant to the team.

Nicole Henry is second on the team in minutes with 1,682, and played at least 90 in 12 of the 19 contests. The defense has allowed opponents to shoot just 91 times in the 11 conference contests, with just 47 being on net. She is rarely beaten in 1-on-1 situations and been a force on the back line.

She is the first NSU player to be named first team since both Alex Latham and Esdeina Gonzalez in 2016.

"Nicole's been very consistent," Jobe said. "I am sure many coaches and SID's remember her from last year, even, and her continued improvement and how important she is to our game and the way we play.

"Her speed and athleticism makes her tough to beat one-on-one. She has been a huge part of that back line and we're really happy to see her get this success."

Natalee Henry won Defensive Player of the Week after the Lady Demons defeated Lamar, handing the Cardinals their only conference loss. Natalee Henry scored the game-winning goal in overtime in the contest. She has two goals on the season.

Mattsson, a freshman from Mariehamn, Finland, has been one of the most versatile players on the team. She can play anywhere on the field and has played at least 80 minutes in 15 of the 19 matches. She has a goal and an assist in conference play, scoring her first career goal against Nicholls on a penalty kick.

Donaldson, a sophomore from Richmond, British Columbia, leads the Lady Demons in every offensive category since in league competition. She has three goals and two assists on 38 shots, including 19 on goal.

She had a goal against Nicholls in a game where she had career-highs in shots (8) and shots on goal (6).

Field, a freshman from Frisco, Texas, won Defensive Player of the Week in a weekend in which NSU swept UL Lafayette and Texas State, and the Lady Demons allowed only one goal and Field scored the winning goal in a 1-0 win against TXST. Her intelligence and high soccer IQ has instrumental when helping lead the back line.

This is the fifth consecutive season the Lady Demons have had at least one All-Conference selection.
 
Player of the Year:  Lucy Ashworth, Lamar
Freshman of the Year: Natalie Jones, Abilene Christian
Newcomer of the Year: Esther Okoronkwo, Lamar
Defender of the Year: Nicole Henry, Northwestern State
Midfielder of the Year: Shay Johnson, Abilene Christian
Forward of the Year:  Lucy Ashworth, Lamar
Goalkeeper of the Year: Kyleigh Hall, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Coach of the Year: Steve Holeman, Lamar
 

2019 Southland Conference Soccer All-Conference Teams
First Team

Pos.	Name	School	Class	Hometown
D	Nicole Henry	Northwestern State	So.	Tomball, Texas
D	Michelle Mulrooney2	Abilene Christian	Sr.	Lodi, Calif.
D	Juana Plata	Lamar	So.	Houston Texas
D	Ana Campa	UIW	Sr.	San Antonio, Texas
MF	Shay Johnson2	Abilene Christian	Sr.	Coppell, Texas
MF	Anna Loftus	Lamar	So.	Milton Keynes, England
MF	Abby Deakin	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Jr.	Broomfield, Colo.
MF	Natalie Jones	Abilene Christian	Fr.	Lubbock, Texas
F	Lucy Ashworth	Lamar	Jr.	Wigan, England
F	Esther Okoronkwo	Lamar	R-Jr.	Richmond, Texas
F	Christina Arteaga3	Abilene Christian	Jr.	Pflugerville, Texas
F	Katelyn Termini	Stephen F. Austin	Jr.	Frisco, Texas
GK	Kyleigh Hall	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Jr.	Mansfield, Texas

 
Second Team

Pos.	Name	School	Class	Hometown
D	Natalee Henry	Northwestern State	So.	Tomball, Texas
D	Sophia Manibo	Lamar	Jr.	Beaumont, Texas
D	Alana Mangan	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Fr.	Bedford, Texas
D	Keely Morrow	McNeese	Jr.	Nevada, Texas
MF	Olivia Mattsson	Northwestern State	Fr.	Mariehamn, Finland
MF	Sophia Fondren2	Stephen F. Austin	Jr.	Frisco, Texas
MF	Rachel Palet2	McNeese	Sr.	Plano, Texas
MF	Kaisa Juvonen	Lamar	Fr.	Tampere, Finland
F	Keeley Ayala	UIW	So.	Wichita Falls, Texas
F	Caylen Wright	Abilene Christian	Fr.	Joshua, Texas
F	Emma Hawkins	Central Arkansas	Fr.	Forney, Texas
F	Brooke Hanson	UIW	Sr.	New Braunfels, Texas
GK	Madeline Talbot	Stephen F. Austin	R-So.	Shreveport, La.

 
Third Team

Pos.	Name	School	Class	Hometown
D	Shayla Spearman	Texas A&M-Corpus Christi	Sr.	Wichita Falls, Texas
D	Alyssia Anuat	Abilene Christian	So.	San Diego, Calif.
D	Brooke Lenz	Abilene Christian	Sr.	Spring, Texas
D	Hallie Field	Northwestern State	Fr.	Frisco, Texas
MF	Hannah Walsh	UIW	Fr.	Preston, England
MF	Isabelle Beletic	UIW	Jr.	Corpus Christi, Texas
MF	Kalynn Bickford	Sam Houston State	Fr.	Mansfield, Texas
MF	Brianna Woodall	Sam Houston State	R-Jr.	Kingwood, Texas
F	Madison Ledet	Lamar	Jr.	Nederland, Texas
F	Havana Johnson2	McNeese	Jr.	Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
F	Sammi Mayock	Sam Houston State	Jr.	Round Rock, Texas
F	Jalen Donaldson	Northwestern State	So.	Richmond, British Columbia
GK	Rachel Johnson2	Abilene Christian	R-Sr.	Coppell, Texas

 
2 – Two-time all-conference selection
3 – Three-time all-conference selection