From Washington University Athletics
Washington University in St. Louis senior goalkeeper Lizzy Crist was named the 2016 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) NCAA Division III Women's Soccer National Player of the Year, as announced by the Association.
Crist is the first player in school history to earn NSCAA National Player of the Year honors, and joins MeghanMarie Fowler Finn (2006, D3Kicks.com) as the only two student-athletes to receive National Player of the Year accolades.
"The fight, skill, and intelligence of the 31 women on the 2016 team made the success we had this season possible," said Crist. "I not only have my teammates, coaches, and administration to thank for every achievement earned and memory made this fall, but also the generations of women who came through the program before me and left a legacy of hard work and commitment to the Bear family."
Crist started 23 games in goal and recorded a 19-1-2 mark with a WashU single-season school record 0.29 goals against average. She also set the single-season school record with 13 shutouts, and tied the win total. Crist led the University Athletic Association (UAA) and ranked fifth in NCAA Division III in goals allowed (6) and goals against average.
A first-team all-UAA, all-Central Region and All-America selection, Crist earned UAA Defensive Athlete of the Week honors four times this season. She was named the NCAA Championship Most Outstanding Defensive Player for the second-consecutive season after posting a 2-0 mark with a 0.90 GAA at the Final Four.
Crist was named the 2015 D3soccer.com Goalkeeper of the Year, and is a three-time all-UAA and all-Central Region selection, concludes her career as the WashU all-time leader in shutouts (31) and is also second in wins (48) and fourth in saves (182).
"Lizzy is an unbelievable talent. She is an amazing teammate and friend," said WashU head coach Jim Conlon. "Goalkeeper is a hard position because it is easy to blame a result on any mistake. Lizzy has been exceptional emotionally, technically, tactically, mentally and physically to take us a long way this season. The WashU women's soccer family is proud of the player and friend Lizzy exuded this season."
Crist was also named the 2016 NSCAA Scholar Player of the Year and was a 2016 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) First-Team Academic All-America selection. She has a 3.87 GPA while majoring in biomedical engineering.
WashU won the 2016 NCAA Division III National Championship after posting a 5-4 shootout victory over Messiah College Dec. 3 in Salem, Va. The Bears recorded a 19-2-3 overall record, the second most wins in school history, and won the UAA championship for the fourth time in the last five years.
Lizzy Crist, sophomore first-team All-American Maggie Crist and senior third-team All-American Katie Chandler will be recognized at the annual NSCAA All-America Luncheon on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in conjunction with the 2017 NSCAA Convention.