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ITHACA, N.Y. — Fort Lewis College goalkeeper Christine Schmelzle was named to the ESPN Academic All-America women's soccer third team, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Committee announced Friday.
Schmelzle, a 5-foot-9 senior from Coconino High School in Flagstaff, Ariz., carries a 3.72 grade point average in Psychology. She becomes just the second women's soccer player in Fort Lewis College history to earn Academic All-America accolades. Kate Kelly earned NSCAA/Umbro third-team Academic All-America honors in 1999.
“Cricket,” as she's known to her teammates, is the most decorated goalkeeper in FLC women's soccer history. Her academic achievements include first team CoSIDA/ESPN Academic All-District 7 (2010), first team Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference All-Academic (2010), second team RMAC All-Academic (2009), and D2 Athletic Directors Association Academic Achievement awards (2009-10, 2008-09).
Her athletic honors include RMAC female Athlete of the Month (October 2010), second team Daktronics All-Central Region (2010), RMAC Defensive Player of the Year (2010), first team All-RMAC (2010), preseason first team All-RMAC (2010), Most Valuable Player of the 2009 RMAC championships, and four-time RMAC Defensive Player of the Week.
“It's tough to put a finger on what it really is that makes Cricket such a special athlete, but if I had to try it would be, straight-up dedication to her goals in life,” said fourth-year Skyhawk women's soccer coach Damian Clarke. “She stays true to herself and she makes choices that foster success. She is a student-athlete at her finest.”
During her career, Schmelzle rewrote the record books. She set FLC career standards for most victories (37), best winning percentage (.790, 37-8-5 overall record) and best goals against average (0.795). She also ranks among FLC career leaders in shutouts (second, 22), games played in goal (third, 59), saves (fourth, 265) and minutes played in goal (fifth, 4,870).
She holds such FLC single-season records as most games played in goal (23, in both 2009 and 2010), most minutes played in goal (2,146:31 in 2009), best goals against average (0.755 in 2009), most shutouts (10 in both 2009 and 2010) and longest shutout streak (561:29 from Aug. 27, 2009 to Sept. 18, 2009).
More notable than individual awards and records, though, is that in her two seasons as a starter, Schmelzle led the Skyhawks to their two best years ever in women's soccer. In 2009, FLC went 18-3-3 overall, climbed to No. 11 in the national rankings, won the RMAC tournament championship, and hosted their first-ever NCAA home playoff game.
In 2010, Schmelzle and crew topped that by posting a program-best record of 18-3-2 overall, winning their first-ever RMAC regular season title, hosting the RMAC women's soccer semifinals and championship at Dirks Field for the first time, climbing to No. 3 in the national polls (the highest ranking in the program's history), and advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. '
The Skyhawks advanced to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals in 2010, where they lost to No. 5 Grand Valley State 5-0 on Nov. 21. Fort Lewis had a first-round bye, advanced past Metro State 4-2 in a penalty kick shootout following a 0-0 draw through two overtimes on Nov. 14, and defeated No. 14 Winona State 2-1 on Nov. 19. They lose just six seniors to graduation.
