Clayton State places four on All-Peach Belt Conference for women’s soccer

MORROW, Ga. – November 4, 2011 – The Peach Belt Conference released its 2011 All-Peach Belt Conference team for women's soccer, and the Clayton State Lakers placed four players on this season's squad.

Selected second team All-Peach Belt Conference for Clayton State was forward Natalia Valentine, goalkeeper Laoise O'Driscoll, midfielder Josefine Holsten and defender Silvia Espelt. This is the most of players from Clayton State selected All-Peach Belt Conference since 2005, and each was a key component of the Lakers' resurgence this season under first-year head coach Gareth O'Sullivan with a 9-7-2 record.

This is the second straight All-PBC selection for Valentine and the first for O'Driscoll, Holsten and Espelt.

Valentine, a junior from Boksburg, South Africa, led the Lakers in scoring this season with 11 goals and two assists for 24 points. She finished ranked fourth in the conference in goals scored and tied for fourth in points scored. Valentine recorded two goals each against Palm Beach Atlantic, West Alabama, Armstrong Atlantic and USC Aiken.

O'Driscoll, a junior from Limerick, Ireland, developed into one of the top goalkeepers in the Peach Belt Conference as the season progressed. She recorded nine shutouts with a 1.04 goals-against average and 88 saves. O'Driscoll finished second in the Peach Belt in saves and sixth in goals-against average.

At one point during the season, O'Driscoll had streaks of 570 and 328 straight minutes without allowing a goal.

Holsten, a junior from Bremen, Germany, was the Lakers' second-leading scorer this season and team playmaker from her midfield position. She finished with four goals and two assists for 10 points, scoring goals against Palm Beach Atlantic, West Georgia, Georgia Southwestern and Columbus State. Her second-half goal at West Georgia was the game-winner.

Espelt, a freshman from Madrid, Spain, anchored a stout Laker defense that tied the school single-season record for shutouts with 10. In addition, she also scored twice on penalty kicks against both Reinhardt and Alabama-Huntsville which proved to be game-winning goals.

Clayton State Women's Soccer 2011 All-Peach Belt Conference

Sylvia Espelt	Josefine Holsten	Laoise O'Driscoll	Natalia Valentine