ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The 2018 Google Cloud Academic All-District Women's Soccer Teams were announced on Thursday and the Navy women's soccer junior duo of goalkeeper
Sydney Fortson (Claremont, Calif.) and midfielder
Cadie Higginson (New Orleans, La.) were recognized as two of the top 11 student-athletes in the region. Made up of NCAA Division I schools in the D.C., Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and West Virginia area, Fortson was District II's only goalie, while Higginson was one of three midfielders named to the team.
The 2018 Patriot League Women's Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year and All-Patriot League Third Team goalie, Fortson has again proven her talents both on- and off-the-field. One year after going 16-4-1 with a 0.90 goals against average and nine shutouts, the California native came back in 2018 with an 11-6-3 record over 20 games with a 0.85 goals against average and eight shutouts. In 16 games this fall, Fortson held opponents to one or fewer goals. Versus conference opponents in the regular season, Fortson recorded six wins, a 0.65 goals against average and four shutouts.
A 2017 CoSIDA Academic All-American Second Team honoree, Fortson has continued her strong performance in the classroom as she holds a 3.90 GPA in aerospace engineering. She currently stands top-10 in the Naval Academy's Class of 2020 in Military Order of Merit and top-30 in Overall Order of Merit.
The Mids' starting defensive midfielder, Higginson has been recognized this postseason with spots on the All-Patriot League First Team and Academic All-Patriot League Team. The junior played a key role in shutting down opposing attackers, while also kickstarting the team's transition offense this season. Playing in and starting 19 games for Navy in 2018, Higginson tallied three goals and two assists over her 1,688 minutes of action on the field. Clutch for Navy down the stretch in league play, she scored all three of her goals over the final four games of the regular season versus Army, Lafayette and Bucknell. Higginson was on the field for 832 of a potential 838 minutes in Patriot League competition.
Away from the field, Higginson is a stalwart in the classroom with a 3.94 GPA in honors systems engineering. A four-time honoree on the Commandant's List, she is ranked in the top-five for Military Order of Merit and top-15 in Overall Order of Merit for the Class of 2020.
Navy and Penn State are the only programs in the region to have multiple players named to the All-District II Team as the Nittany Lions' Kerry Abello and Emily Ogle were selected to the midfield.
Fortson and Higginson now advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot. The Academic All-American Team will be selected later this month.
As a program, this is the sixth time that multiple Midshipmen were named to the Academic All-District First Team in the same year as Fortson and Meghan Hegarty earned accolades last November on their way to spots on the Academic All-American Team. Prior to 2017, the most recent pairing was that of Beth Reed and Shelly Moeller in 2009.
The Navy women's soccer team concluded its 2018 season on October 30 in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament. Navy finished the year with an 11-6-3 overall record and a 7-2 mark in Patriot League play.
CoSIDA Academic All-District II -
(DC, DE, KY, MD, NJ, PA, WV)
F - Kourtney Cunningham, Rider (Sr., 3.93 GPA, Health Care Management)
F - Alex Stanford, Lafayette (Sr., 3.76, Biology)
F - Erin Torrence, Eastern Kentucky (Sr., 4.00, Occupational Science)
M - Kerry Abello, Penn State (So., 4.00, Biology)
M - Cadie Higginson, Navy (Jr., 3.94, Honors - Systems Engineering)
M - Emily Ogle, Penn State (Sr., 3.99, Kinesiology)
D - Hannah Fischer, Northern Kentucky (Jr., 3.99, Elementary Education)
D - Samantha Lackner, Robert Morris (Sr., 4.00, Psychology)
D - Megan Morris, Western Kentucky (Sr., 3.96, Accounting)
D - Bianca St. Georges, West Virginia (Sr., 4.00, Exercise Physiology)
GK - Sydney Fortson, Navy (Jr., 3.90, Aerospace Engineering)
