November 4, 2011

Salminen named to Capital One All-District Team

GREELEY – On a day when athletics were at the forefront of her mind, Northern Colorado senior goalkeeper Kirstin Salminen earned an academic honor.

Salminen and the Bears are hosting the 2011 Big Sky Conference Soccer Championship at Jackson Stadium on Friday and Sunday with an NCAA Tournament berth on the line, but all season Salminen has been strong in the classroom as well as on the pitch and today earned Capital One Academic All-District 7 Second-Team honors.

Salminen is a biomedical sciences major with a 3.88 grade point average and earlier this week was tabbed the Big Sky Conference Goalkeeper of the Year. Salminen, a native of Lynden, Wash., led the league with seven shutouts on the year and was second in conference matches with a .879 save percentage. She also ranks among the top in the nation in minutes played and has been named Big Sky Player of the Week four times during her standout career. At the end of her career, she will also have been named to the Big Sky All-Academic Team all four years.

Salminen is the sixth Bear soccer player to earn CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) Academic honors since 2005, joining Megan Bellindir (2008), Danielle Birdsall (2010), Katey Borman (2009, 2010), Marika Johnson (2006, 2007) and Whitney Salter (2005).

To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve with at least a 3.30 cumulative grade point average at his/her current institution. Nominated athletes must have participated in at least 50 percent of the team's games. District 7 is made up of institutions from Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming.

FIRST TEAM

Goalkeeper

Alicia Montgomery

CREIGHTON

Sr.

Walnut Creek, Calif.

3.79

Math and secondary education

Goalkeeper

Courtney Seelhorst

BAYLOR

Sr.

Plano, Texas

3.40

Pre-Physical Therapy

Midfielder

Jael Fanning

NEW MEXICO

Sr.

Albuquerque, N.M.

4.08

Nutrition

Midfielder

Bethany Johnston

BAYLOR

Sr.

McKinney, Texas

4.0

Biochemistry

Midfielder

Sarah Brown

OKLAHOMA STATE

Sr.

Tulsa, OK

3.41

sports media / public relations

Defender

Kari Storslett

DENVER

Sr.

Bakersfield, Calif.

3.97

Physics

Defender

Katy Van Lieshout

DENVER

Jr.

Boulder, Colo.

3.98

Mechanical Engineering

Defender

Claire Hulcer

TULSA

Jr.

St. Louis, Mo.

3.93

Marketing

Defender

Azia Nicholson

TEXAS-EL PASO

So.

Grand Prairie, Texas

4.0

Biology

Forward

Krista Lopez

OKLAHOMA STATE

Sr.

Carrollton, TX

4.0

Management & Accounting

Forward

Dana Larsen

BAYLOR

Jr.

Mequon, Wis.

4.0

Biochemistry

Forward

Chelsea Small

IDAHO

Jr.

Solana Beach, Calif.

3.96

Secondary Education

SECOND TEAM

Goalkeeper

Kirstin Salminen

NORTHERN COLORADO

Sr.

Lynden, Wash.

3.88

Biomedical Sciences

Midfielder

Kelsey Perlman

NORTH TEXAS

Sr.

Allen, Texas

3.96

International Studies and French

Midfielder

Kylie Louw

STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE

Jr.

Discovery, South Africa

3.68

Kinesiology

Midfielder

Elizabeth DeLozier

OKLAHOMA STATE

Sr.

Houston, TX

3.78

human development and family science

Defender

Kathryn Watson

OKLAHOMA

So.

Richardson, Texas

3.97

Health and Exercise Sciences

Defender

Rachelle Barry

LAMAR

Gr.

University Place, Wash

3.93

BA in exercise science, pursuing Master's in kinesiology

Defender

Jennifer Torry

LAMAR

Jr.

Langley, British Columbia

4.00

English

Defender

Lucy Keith

TEXAS

Sr.

Dallas, Texas

3.31

Public Relations

Defender

Nina Frausing Pedersen

TEXAS

So.

Silkeborg, Denmark

3.52

Business Finance/Sports Management

Defender

Elise Nordin

NEW MEXICO STATE

Jr.

Huntington Beach, Calif.

3.91

Nursing

Forward

Bridgett Murphy

AIR FORCE

Sr.

Melbourne Beach, Fla.

3.49

English

Forward

Kristen Hamilton

DENVER

So.

Littleton, Colo.

3.98

Business

Forward

Michelle Alexander

OKLAHOMA

Sr.

Sugar Land, Texas

3.58

Energy Management

Forward

Lisa Sliwinski

BAYLOR

Jr.

Plano, Texas

3.89

Pre-Physical Therapy