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Hall Named 3rd Team All-American; First In Division I History
12/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
BUFFALO, NY – Two days after earning All-Region accolades, redshirt junior defender Jackie Hall was tabbed as a third team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, as announced by the organization on Friday. With the selection to the third team, Hall becomes the first Division I All-American in UB women's soccer program history.
"As a staff, team and department we are so extremely proud of Jackie Hall," stated first-year head coach Shawn Burke. "To be recognized as one of the best players in the entire country is a testament to her abilities, drive and passion for winning. Jackie is an unbelievable representative of what this program is and what our program is going to be for years to come."
Hall, the Mid-American Conference Defensive Player of the Year and first team All-MAC member, earned third team All-American accolades, the first in UB women's soccer Division I history, after the most dominant season by a UB defender in history. The Brunswick, Ohio native led a back line that pitched a program record 14 shutouts in the most successful season in program history. Not only has Hall been dominant in the defensive third of the pitch, but also she has been a scoring threat in the offensive third where she netted a career-high four goals this season. Hall scored a pair of goals in the MAC Tournament for the Bulls including the game-winning marker in the 82nd minute in the MAC Championship game against Western Michigan, to send UB to their first-ever NCAA Tournament.
Starting every game for the Bulls, Hall leads the team in minutes played and became the first UB player in program history to be tabbed MAC Defensive Player of the Year. After making the transition to the center back position, Hall led a stout Buffalo defense that held their opponents to five shots on goal or less in 16 of 22 contests. The stingy UB defense led the MAC in all defensive categories this season.
When asked about how she felt after hearing she was named an All-American, Hall stated, "First of all, I believe it is very important to thank my teammates and coaches for helping me earn this honor. I really couldn't have done it without them. I am just really thankful for this honor as I never even imagined something like this was possible."
Hall was a stalwart in the back line for the Bulls who finished their historic 2014 campaign with a program record 16 wins (16-3-3). Under the guidance of first-year head coach Shawn Burke, UB won their first regular season MAC Championship and MAC Tournament Championship en route to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
The redshirt junior is the first MAC player since Miami's Jess Kodiak in 2012 to earn All-American recognition.
"My only goal coming into this season was to help my team win a MAC Championship and we were fortunate enough to accomplish that," said Hall. "I am happy to be able to represent the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York in a bright light and bring a good name to the University as well as the women's soccer program."
Hall, as well as the other All-Americans, will be honored at the 2015 NSCAA Convention in Philadelphia, PA. The convention is being held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on January 14-18. The NSCAA Convention is billed as the largest annual gathering of soccer coaches in the world.
