PINE BLUFF, Ark..- In a season which saw the University Of Arkansas at Pine Bluff's soccer team reach new found heights a pair of Lady Lions now stand atop the NCAA.
Jade West and Nicole Parks- Powell recently finished the 2008 regular season ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation in points per game.
West, a freshman midfielder from Ajax, Ontario, completely shattered the single- season UAPB record with 45 points while leading the Southwestern Conference in that category. Her average of 3.0 points per game was the best in NCAA Division I.
The hands-down favorite to claim both Freshman and Offensive Player of the Year honors in the SWAC this season, West also scored 16 goals this season, which tied her for first in the SWAC with teammate Parks- Powell.
West also set a new single-season record with 13 assists as the Lady Lions posted their best ever record with a mark of 7-8-1 and 3-1 in the SWAC. She was tops in the SWAC in assists per game and ninth in the nation with an average of 0.87 assists per game.
"We knew what kind of player Jade was when we recruited her," second- year head coach Roberto Mazza said. "We knew that she had the potential to be an immediate impact player in the SWAC and we were very, very happy to get her here at UAPB."
Parks- Powell, a freshman forward from Tracy, CA, finished second behind West in points per game (2.6) and the two teammates finished the season tied for second in the nation in goals per game (1.07).
Rachel Harker, a freshman midfielder from Burnaby, British Columbia, finished the regular season ranked second in the SWAC behind West in assists per game (0.56). That mark also garnered Harker national recognition as well, as she finished 17th in the NCAA in that catergory.
"Nicole and Rachel are cut from the the same competitive mold as Jade," Mazza said. "They're soccer players. I never have to worry about them going all out and giving 100 percent when they're on the field."
The UAPB soccer team also picked up a Top 10 ranking of its own. The Lady Lions' goal per game average of 2.81 is ninth best in the nation.
UAPB opens the 2008 SWAC Soccer Championship Thursday at Itta Bena, Ms on the campus of Mississippi Valley State. The Lady Lions, the No. 2 seed out of the Western Division will face Alabama A&M, the No. 3 seed from the East and the defending champions beginning at 1:00 p.m.
