KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The United Soccer Coaches (USC) announced the athletes that received the Division ll College Player Award of Distinction. West Alabama women's soccer team had three athletes receive this honor.
Defenders Paige Laidler and Brianna Forrest as well as midfielder Kaylah Butterworth have earned this award.
"This is a tremendous recognition for the players selected and our program," UWA head coach Graeme Orr said. "All three athletes are first class soccer players but more importantly great students and are proud to represent UWA."
Laidler posted seven goals and passed one assist this season. The native of Windsor, England, posted a .889 shot on goal percentage with one game winner. In Laidler's career as a Tiger, she has been named to 2019 GSC Fall Academic Honor Roll and named to the 2021 GSC Spring Championship All-Tournament team.
Forrest came to West Alabama as a freshman in 2017 and has made 41 career appearances for the Tigers and has started in 28 of those matches. The native from Bowmanville, Ontario, passed one assist this season. Forrest was named to the GSC Fall Academic Honor Roll (2017 and 2019) her freshman and sophomore season.
Butterworth scored one goal and posted a .600 shot on goal percentage this season. Since coming in as a freshman in 2018, the native of Mary Easter, Florida, has earned the 2018 GSC Freshman of the Week Award (Sept. 18) and was named to the 2018 GSC Fall Academic Honor Roll.
The College Player Award of Distinction is given to athletes that have achieved quality performance on the field, represented the highest ideal of team leadership, exhibited quality character attributes including sportsmanship and respect for teammates, opponents, and officials, and made other significant contributions to the benefit of the program and the community.
To stay connected with the UWA women's soccer team, follow @UWA_womenssoccer on Instagram and @UWAWomensSoccer on Twitter.. General athletic news, along with game recaps and box scores, can be found at uwaathletics.com. Additional updates and information are available @UWAAthletics on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
