CCAC Tournament Champions
Making program history, the Judson University women's soccer team won their first-ever CCAC Tournament championship with a shutout win over Robert Morris. Judson held off #6 seeded RMC, 2-0, for their sixth shutout of the year. Senior Samantha Vestal scored both goals for Judson in the first 20 minutes of the match and then Judson played defense the rest of the game to hold onto the championship.
CCAC Tournament Run
As the #4 seed in the CCAC Tournament, Judson won all three of their games to claim the championship. Judson hosted #5 Olivet Nazarene University in a first round match that went down to the wire. With the scored tied 2-2, the match went into overtime where Samantha Vestal nailed a free kick from about 25-yards out that sailed into the net to give Judson the 3-2 win in the 96th minute. This advanced Judson to play top seeded and #6 in the nation St. Xavier in Chicago.
In another stellar soccer match, Judson pulled off the upset of the year with a 3-2 shootout victory over SXU. After a 0-0 tie in two overtimes, the game was decided on a shootout. Even though the game will go down as a tie, Judson received the win by claiming the shootout.
Judson made their first three attempts in the shootout and then Alice Phonprasith saved the fifth shot to seal the win after SXU missed their fourth attempt. The win was Judson's first-ever over a nationally ranked team as they advanced to their first-ever CCAC Championship.
In the CCAC Championship, Judson jumped out early with two goals by Vestal in the first 20 minutes to seal the win and gain the automatic bid to the NAIA Region VII Tournament and a #1 seed.
#1 Seed in NAIA Region VII
Judson received their first-ever #1 seed in the NAIA Region VII tournament by winning the CCAC tournament championship. The #1 seed was the first for the program and gave Judson a first-round bye.
Judson had been regionally ranked for most of the season in the top five and in the final regional poll before the post-season they were #3. Judson fell to #5 seeded Trinity Christian, 1-0, as Trinity Christian scored the only goal in the third minute of the match and then held off Judson.
9-Game Unbeaten Streak
Providing the second longest winning streak in program history, Judson peeked at the right time of the season as they won nine of their last 11 games of the season. Judson's nine-game unbeaten streak started on September 29th with a win over St. Francis and continued through the CCAC Tournament. In the run, Judson defeated two nationally ranked teams in #12 Trinity Christian and #6 St. Xavier. The only tie came against St. Xavier but Judson advanced due to a 3-2 shoot out win in the CCAC Tournament. The record for consecutive wins is 10 matches as the 2006 team accomplished this goal. Judson started the season 3-5-1 before the nine-game unbeaten streak and finished 11-7-2.
Making a Name Nationally
In the nine-game unbeaten streak, Judson let the nation know that they were a program to watch out for as they knocked off two nationally ranked teams. Judson defeated #12 Trinity Christian College, 4-3, in overtime for their first-ever defeat over a nationally ranked team. Christina Thornton scored just under a minute in overtime to shock TCC.
The next win over a nationally ranked program came in a shootout over #6 St. Xavier in the CCAC Tournament. In the record books, the game will go down as a tie but in post-season it is a win for Judson. After a 0-0 double overtime tie, Judson made their first three attempts in the shootout and then watched as SXU missed their fourth attempt and then was denied in their fifth attempt as Judson won.
NAIA National Awards
For the second year in a row, Christina Thornton was named a NAIA All-American as she was on the honorable mention team. She was voted onto the honorable mention team after being named to the NAIA Region VII First-Team. This was the second year in a row that she received both of these awards.
NCCAA National Awards
Two players were named to the NCCAA All-American teams in Christina Thornton and Samantha Vestal. Thornton picked up her second All-American award of the season and was a repeat selection as a NCCAA All-American. She was named to the NCCAA First-Team. Vestal, gaining her first-ever All-American award, was named to the NCCAA All-American Honorable Mention team. Both Thornton and Vestal were NCCAA All-North Central Region First-Team selections.
NCCAA National Player of the Week
Samantha Vestal gained the only NCCAA National Player of the Week award for Judson on October 23rd. She was given the award for her performance for two matches. She scored the game winning goal in OT vs. Olivet Nazarene in CCAC quarterfinal match in 96th minute on free kick from 25-yards out. She took two shots vs. ONU with both on goal. The win is the first-ever for Judson in CCAC Tournament. She recorded two goals and two assists in 4-0 win over Cardinal Stritch to help JU to a 6-3 record in the CCAC and a tie for fourth.
CCAC Awards
For the season that they had in the CCAC, Judson did not get the recognition that they should have in the CCAC. Only three players were named to All-CCAC teams in Christina Thornton, Amy Jenkins, and Emma Mugg. Thornton was named to the All-CCAC First-Team for the second year in a row while both Mugg and Jenkins were All-CCAC Honorable Mention.
CCAC Players of the Week
Two players were named CCAC Players of the Week picking up four awards. Alice Phoneprasith won the award three times while Samantha Vestal took it once. Phoneprasith won the award for defensive player of the week on October 8th, October 22nd, and October 29th. Judson swept the awards on October 29th as Vestal was given the offensive award for her play.
Academic All-Americans
Three players were named academic All-Americans for their grade point average in Amber Bocquin, Amy Jenkins, and Sarah Schmitz. All three players were awarded NAIA and NCCAA Academic All-American awards. It was the third year in row that Schmitz had been named an academic All-American and the second for Jenkins.
In the CCAC Statistics
Several players were in the top 20 for CCAC statistics as Christina Thornton led the way. She led the CCAC in goals per game at 0.84 with 16 goals in 19 games. She was also fourth in points per game at 1.95 (37 points) and 16th in assists at 0.26 per game.
Samantha Vestal finished sixth in assists at 0.47 (9 assists), ninth in points with 1.42 points per game, and 12th in goals at 0.47 per game (9 goals).
Lynsey McFarland finished 12th in assists at 0.37 per game (7 assists), 17th in points at 1.00 per game, and 19th in goals at 0.32 per game (6 goals). Emma Mugg and Sarah Schmitz were 19th and 20th in assists per game at 0.24 and 0.22.
End of an Era
The 2007 season also brought the end to a five-year run by Freddie King, Jr. In April 2008, King decided to resign as head coach and to continue teaching full-time in the Judson University Exercise and Sports Science Department. In five seasons, King went 47-42-5 and had coached two of the best teams in the history of the program. His 2007 squad won the first-ever CCAC Tournament Championship and received a #1 seed in the NAIA Region VII Tournament. They also had a nine-game unbeaten streak. In the 2006 season, his team started off 10-0 and set a school record for consecutive wins and wins in a season with 15. That team also advanced to the NCCAA National Tournament for the first-time, ever, and he was named the CCAC and NCCAA North Central Region "Coach of the Year." King's role will be filled in by Judson alumnus Diego Cevallos as the interim coach for the 2008 season.
Cevallos Named Interim
Judson alumnus Diego Cevallos has been named the interim head coach for women's soccer in the 2008 season. Cevallos has been a part of the Judson men's soccer program as an assistant coach for four years and had played a major role in recruiting the class that won 74 games in four years along with four CCAC and NAIA Regional Championships along with four-straight appearances in the NAIA National Tournament. Cevallos is a 2004 graduate of Judson.
