Thursday, November 11, 2021

AUSTIN, Texas – As the GNAC Championships get set to start on Thursday afternoon, four players competing in the tournament have been named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Division II Academic All-District 8 Women’s Soccer Team.

Seattle Pacific senior forward Sophia Chilczuk earned her fourth selection to the Academic All-District Team, becoming the first-ever conference player to be recognized four times. Western Washington senior midfielder Grace Eversaul was elected for the third time while Vikings senior goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx and Northwest Nazarene sophomore defender Kate Bleffert earned their first Academic All-District nods.

Chilczuk, a First Team All-GNAC selection, has a 3.92 GPA as an applied human biology major. Chilczuk has six goals on the season and leads the GNAC with 13 assists. She currently ranks second in Division II with 0.81 assists per match. Chilczuk played a key role in Seattle Pacific winning its first GNAC regular-season championship since 2011.

Eversaul, who was named Honorable Mention All-GNAC, owns a 3.89 GPA as a recreation management and leadership major. Eversaul currently ranks fourth in the conference with 49 shots and had three goals and two assists on the season. Two of those were game-winners.

Dierickx, also a First Team All-GNAC selection, has a 3.41 GPA as a communications major. A mainstay in Western Washington’s stout defense, Dierickx ranks second in the GNAC with a 0.60 goals against average and third in save percentage (.857) and shutouts (seven). She ranks 29th in Division II in goals against average and save percentage.

Bleffert, who earned Second Team All-GNAC honors, has a 3.88 GPA as an engineering major. Bleffert has started all 17 matches this season and leads the Nighthawks with 1,558 minutes played. She has played a key role in an NNU defense that limited conference opponents to 15 goals this season as NNU made the GNAC Championships for the first time since 2017.

With their selections to the Academic All-District Team, the quartet is eligible for consideration for the CoSIDA Division II Academic All-America Team, which will be announced on Thursday, December 9.

The CoSIDA Division II Academic All-District 8 Team is comprised of players from the GNAC, the California Collegiate Athletic Association and the PacWest Conference. The CCAA had five of the team’s honorees while the PacWest had two honorees.

The Academic All-District teams are nominated and voted upon by members of CoSIDA and recognize student-athletes of sophomore standing or higher who are starters or significant reserves for their teams with a minimum GPA of 3.30 or better.