Post '00 wins Ivy League Player of Year honors
Dartmouth women's soccer co-captain Jessica Post '00 won the Ivy League Player of the Year award and joined three teammates as first-team All-Ivy selections, the League announced yesterday.
Post led the Big Green with seven goals and eight assists for 22 points, which was good for third in the League.
"I'm unbelievably honored to get it," Post told The Dartmouth last night. "It's like a full culmination from my freshman year."
Post's freshman year was actually a season before those of her senior teammates. Post missed her sophomore season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament, but returned to the team and opted to spend a fifth year at Dartmouth -- her fourth year of NCAA eligibility -- in hopes of one last winning season.
"That was a definite turning point for me with soccer," Post said of her injury. "You don't realize how much you want something until you don't have it. I'm so glad I decided to stay."
Katie Gayman '01, the team's other co-captain, Gretchen Bell '01 and goaltender Kristin Luckenbill '01 all made the first team as well.
Luckenbill was selected to the team for the fourth time. She had previously won Player of the Year honors in 1998.
"I'm really excited for everyone," Luckenbill said, adding that Post "totally deserved" the nod as the League's best player.
"She's been really dangerous against every team," Luckenbill said. "She creates a lot of opportunities for herself and other players."
Classmates Jen Murray '01 and Abby Gillard '01 earned second-team All-Ivy honors, meaning that all six 2001 women's soccer graduates made the squad. That class is the winningest in Dartmouth history, with 48 victories over four years.
"Our class is really tight," Luckenbill said. "I think we all push each other and that's why we've gotten so far."
Jamie Lang '02 also was selected to the second team while Devon Haskell '03 earned an honorable mention.
Lang, Gillard, Gayman, Bell and Luckenbill -- virtually every starter on Dartmouth's defense -- were considered among the best at their positions.
Although the awards have been handed out, the Big Green's season is far from over. After receiving a first-round by in the NCAA tournament, the team will face Boston University this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in Hanover. Admission will be charged at Chase Field.
BU knocked off Holy Cross 1-0 yesterday afternoon.
The Big Green previously beat BU 3-0 on Sept. 20.
But time has allowed BU to improve.
"We're going to have to show up ready to play," Post said.
If the Big Green get past BU, they can expect to play seventh-seeded Penn State in the next round.
Luckenbill, who is from Paoli, Penn., said she would look forward to the match-up.
"I almost went to Penn State," she said. "I've wanted to play them for years."
