Many college students consider themselves lucky to simply graduate in four years with their sanity intact, let alone receive an award for the first time in school history.
First-year graduate student Ellen Lundy was awarded ASUN Player of the Year Wednesday. Lundy has also been recognized as a scholar athlete and a member of the All-Conference First Team in addition to being ASUN Player of the Year.
Other notable mentions for ASUN Women’s Soccer awards this season include seniors Jade Abarca and Niamh Rawlins on the All-Conference First Team, sophomore Olivia Doak and junior Justis Bailey on the All-Conference Second Team and Coach Kevin O’Brien as ASUN Coach of the Year.
Lundy mentioned that she was really shocked to learn the news because she views the team as doing more work than she does and because she thought that there were more deserving girls in the conference.
While Lundy was surprised by the news of the award, O’Brien was not shocked to learn that ASUN unanimously selected her as the recipient.
“She scored some pivotal goals for us this year, and a lot of those have come in conference, so the impression she has left on the other head coaches is that she is a gamer, and she is really important to our success,” O’Brien said.
Receiving an award of this honor typically comes with pressure to uphold the image that has been placed on the individual. However, Lundy has chosen not to feel the pressure, but instead embrace her original goals for the season.
“I didn’t start this season thinking, ‘My goal is to win ASUN Player of the Year.’ I started the season with the goal of being a good teammate and to help this team go places that we’ve never been,” Lundy said.
Over the course of five years Lundy has been seen by O’Brien and the rest of the team as a diverse player. This season alone she has played both in defense and offense positions. She began the season as a center back before being moved to the front of the field as a forward.
“On a strictly soccer side she has enabled us to do different things against different opponents because she has the skill set to be strong as a forward and as a center back,” O’Brien said. “When the coach has flexibility within the team it just helps.”
Lundy added, “It doesn’t matter where I get to play on the field; it is just so fun, especially with the girls that I get to play with.”
During the course of this season, Lundy has scored seven goals, six occurring during ASUN conference games and four of the seven being game-winners. In addition to this, she leads the team in points with 14, shots at 36 and shots-on-goal with 15.
Behind all of these statistics, Lundy has been known for being a team player and also seen as an incredible help in advancing the soccer program at Lipscomb through the Division I era.
O’Brien mentioned that the most impressive trait of Lundy’s is that she does not have an ego and is the epitome of a team player.
Lundy has previously been offered the position of team captain by O’Brien but turned it down in order to let another qualified teammate fill the role.
“She has communicated to the 25 other girls on the team that the team comes first,” O’Brien said. “I think other players are scratching their heads because she embraces it and doesn’t get upset, frustrated or down that she is being moved around.”
While O’Brien said that he will miss Lundy, she also admitted that she will miss the sport that has given her more than just bruises over her career.
“I really respect and trust our coaches that we’ve had. O’Brien and Coach Shannon have shaped me as a person by the way they lead young women who are just susceptible to everything during their college years,” Lundy explained. “Personally and spiritually speaking I have learned a lot from their personal stories and how they’ve invested in me as a person and encouraged me.”
As Lundy prepares to hang up her Lady Bisons uniform for the last time, it appears as though she has given the sport just as much as it has given her. Lundy will join the team as they play on Friday and Sunday at the ASUN Semifinals and Finals hosted at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Now