Northwestern State junior Olivia Draguicevich added to her award haul as she was voted the 2021 All-Louisiana Player of the Year on Thursday by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
Draguiceivch led a trio of Lady Demons on the all-state team, joined by senior goalkeeper Acelya Aydogmus and defender Nicole Henry. NSU’s three selections on the 11-member team is a state best as LSU, Louisiana Christian and ULM each placed a pair.
Draguicevich, the Southland Conference Player and Forward of the Year, earned the highest annual superlative the LSWA awards student athletes following a record-breaking campaign which lifted the Lady Demons to their first Southland Conference Tournament title since 2005 and just their second regular season crown in program history. She is also NSU’s first-ever Louisiana Player of the Year in soccer.
Draguicevich netted 13 goals, including seven game-winning goals which tied the nation’s top mark in the category. Her 29 points topped the SLC and was good for 30th nationally.
Draguicevich scored at least one goal in eight of 12 regular season conference matches, including a career-high four-goal outing at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi which tied the program record for most goals scored in a single match. Draguicevich also played a critical role in the Lady Demons’ postseason success, scoring the game winner in the SLC Tournament semifinal and assisting on the game winner in the title match against Incarnate Word.
“All-Louisiana Player of the Year is a huge honor,” Draguicevich said. “Thank you to my coaches, family and teammates for the part they’ve played in helping me get this far in my playing career. It wouldn’t have been done without all of them.”
Back-to-back Southland Conference Goalkeeper of the Year and conference Student Athlete of the Year Aydogmus earned her second consecutive All-Louisiana selection following another historic season for the Lady Demons’ prized keeper.
Aydogmus posted new career (27) and single-season (12) program shutout records, ranking her second nationally in the category. Aydogmus allowed just three goals through league play and recorded two clean sheets on 11 saves in the Southland Conference Tournament en route to NSU’s first postseason title since 2005. A goals-allowed average of .66 is good for 20th nationally and second in program history — second only to a record which she set just six months prior during the spring 2020 season (0.41).
Henry, the three-time reigning Southland Defender of the Year, earned her second-straight All-Louisiana selection playing a leading role on an NSU back line which accrued the nation’s third-highest shutout percentage (.632) through the end of the Southland Tournament and pitched a record 12 shutouts.
Henry scored one goal this season which occurred at home against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and logged two assists – one of which came against Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, resulting in the program’s first-ever goal in an NCAA Tournament.
2021 LSWA All-Louisiana Soccer Team
Individual Awards
Player of the Year: Olivia Draguicevich, Northwestern State
Freshman of the Year: Martina Terra Garcia, Louisiana Christian
Newcomer of the Year: Alesia Garcia, LSU
Coach of the Year: Carla Tejas, Louisiana Christian
First Team
Tinaya Alexander, LSU – Forward, RS Senior, Reading, Berkshire, England
Karleen Bedre, Louisiana – MF, Jr., Norco, Calif.
Stephanie Doran – Louisiana Christian, MF/D, Sr., Colton, Calif.
Olivia Draguicevich, Northwestern State – Forward, Junior, Pflugerville, Texas
Alesia Garcia, LSU – Forward, Senior, Aurora, Colorado
Nicole Henry, Northwestern State – Defender, Senior, Tomball, Texas
Courtney Marten, ULM – F, Jr., Collinsville, Illinois
Kailey Pena, Grambling State – Senior, Albuquerque, N.M.
Martina Terra Garcia – Louisiana Christian, F/MF, Fr., San Jacinto, Canelones, Uruguay
Theoni Zerva, ULM – MF, Sr., Kalamata, Messinia, Greece
Acelya Aydogmus, Northwestern State – Goalkeeper, Senior, Cape Coral, Florida
Honorable Mention: Megan Gordon, Southeastern; Mya Guillory, Southeastern; Josie Studer, Louisiana Tech; Kristel Chaves Bello, Louisiana Christian; Chelsea Brown, LSU; Mara Grutkamp, ULM, Anna Watson, McNeese; Isabella Campos Paniagua, Louisiana Christian, Lindsey Jacobs, Louisiana Christian; Molly Thompson, LSU; Keeley Morrow, McNeese; Rachel Young, McNeese; Mollee Swift, LSU.
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