Women's Soccer 11/6/2019 12:00:00 PM

Lions Clean Up On ACAA Honors

Finlandia had seven All-ACAA (American Collegiate Athletic Association) selections along with three individual winners for women's soccer. Members of the ACAA are Finlandia, Mills, Mount Mary, Pine Manor, Pratt, UC Santa Cruz and Valley Forge. The Lions tied UC Santa Cruz for most players selected.

Earning first team honors were sophomore Addie Budzinski, sophomore Daisia Knowles, junior Erika Lambert, senior Kirsten L'Esperance and freshman Brie Witt. Second team honors went to senior Molly Berg and freshman Meaghan Maly.

In addition, L'Esperance was named Player of the Year, Knowles was Defensive Player of the Year and freshman Sam Linteo was First-Year Player of the Year.

Budzinski, a second team selection in 2018, scored eight goals with four assists for 20 points. She had the game winning goal against arch rival Northland (Oct. 2) and is fifth in the ACAA in goals.

Knowles, a first team selection in 2018, scored four goals with four assists for 12 points. She used her speed to record numerous takeaways and was aggressive in front of the net with at least 10 blocks. Knowles, who was an all-tournament selection, is the top scoring defenseman in the ACAA.

Lambert, an all-tournament selection, scored five goals with two assists for 12 points. She scored the game-winning goal against Mills (Nov. 2) that pushed the Lions to their first ever conference final.

L'Esperance, a first team selection in 2019, scored 14 goals with 20 assists for 48 points. She leads the ACAA in goals, assists, points and game-winning goals (5). L'Esperance, who was also an all-tournament selection, currently leads NCAA D3 in assists and assists per game (1.11).
Witt scored two goals with four assists for eight points. She assisted on game-winning goals twice during the season. Witt was key at holding the ball to allow her teammates to get into scoring position.

Berg, a second team selection in 2017 and 2018, started all 18 games and tallied one assist. She averaged two takeaways a game and was a key component of a defense that posted 10 shutouts on the season. Berg is ranked third in games played (53) and is the first soccer player (male or female) in school history to be named all-conference four times.

Maly started 15 of 17 games played and had one goal with two assists for four points. She was a tenacious defender forcing numerous turnovers throughout the season.

Linteo was 11-6-1 with 85 saves, 9.5 shutouts and a 1.61 G.A.A. in 1620 minutes and 30 seconds of action. She leads the ACAA in shutouts and is second in G.A.A. and save percentage (.743). Linteo tied the school record for wins and set new marks in G.A.A. and minutes played.

-FINLANDIA UNIVERSITY-

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Players Mentioned

#10 Molly Berg: D; 5' 4"; Senior

#15 Addie Budzinski: F/MF; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#19 Daisia Knowles: D / F; 5' 5"; Sophomore

#18 Kirsten L’Esperance: MF; 5' 6"; Senior

#11 Erika Lambert: F; 5' 4"; Junior

#0 Sam Linteo: GK; Freshman

#6 Meaghan Maly: D; 5' 6"; Freshman

#13 Brie Witt: D / M; 5' 8"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#10 Molly Berg
: 5' 4"; Senior
: D

#15 Addie Budzinski
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: F/MF

#19 Daisia Knowles
: 5' 5"; Sophomore
: D / F

#18 Kirsten L’Esperance
: 5' 6"; Senior
: MF

#11 Erika Lambert
: 5' 4"; Junior
: F

#0 Sam Linteo
: Freshman
: GK

#6 Meaghan Maly
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: D

#13 Brie Witt
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: D / M