NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion women's soccer team had five players named on Tuesday to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team.
The 2022 Academic All-District® Women's Soccer Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America® program separately recognizes soccer honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Academic All-District® honorees advance to the CSC Academic All-America® ballot. First-, second- and third-team Academic All-America® honorees will be announced in early December. To qualify, a student-athlete had to have at least a 3.5 grade point average,
Anessa Arndt, Riley Kennett, Carla Morich, Ece Turkoglu and Megan Watts earned the honor and are now up for Academic All-American honors.
Riley Kennett has only missed one game and has played predominately every minute in each game totaling well over 1,700 minutes played. She is a superb defender who has marshaled the ODU back line throughout the season and is a real threat in the air and fantastic with the ball. She has recorded assists against Coastal Carolina and at Georgia State. Scored her first goal of the season in the win over Marshall in the regular season finale.
Anessa Arndt has been the unsung hero for this team. Starting every game this season and has played in almost 1,700 minutes of action, with 10 games of playing all 90 minutes. The sophomore recorded one assist in a 4-0 win over Coastal Carolina and has been a key cog on a backline that has helped ODU record eight clean sheets. From her outside back position, she has had a stellar defensive year and has played a big part in the buildup play from ODU. Arndt had an assist in the 1-0 win over Arkansas State in quarterfinals.
Ece Turkoglu was a captain and has started every single game amassing almost 1,600 minutes. A very talented midfielder with the ability to make ODU tick, but she is also fantastic in the air and defensively has big responsibility on the team. She is often the player who makes the pass before the assist. Has scored two goals this season against Richmond and Coastal Carolina. Recorded an assist in the win over Marshall. Had the decisive PK in the semifinal win over South Alabama. She earned All-Sun Belt Conference and All-Sun Belt Conference Tournament honors.
Carla Morich is a fifth-year senior who has scored some hugely important goals for ODU this season. She scored twice against league leading South Alabama for a draw, two against Coastal Carolina including the game winner and the game-winner at Georgia State. Has played in every game and played nearly 1,400 minutes on the year. In addition to the two goals against Coastal Carolina, she added an assist in the contest. Had a hat trick in final against JMU which led ODU to its first Sun Belt title. She was an All-Sun Belt Conference, All-Sun Belt Tournament and named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
Megan Watts was also a captain for the Monarchs this year and has led from the front. Watts has started and played in every game tallying over 1,400 minutes. She recorded a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win at Richmond and had the game-winner in ODU's inaugural Sun Belt Conference matchup at Louisiana. Playing in her home finale against Marshall, she scored the first goal of the game. Scored lone goal in win over Arkansas State in quarterfinal.
Five Women's Soccer Standouts Named Academic All-District
