Four Huskers Earn All-America Honors From Soccer Buzz

Nebraska sophomore forward Christine Latham earned first-team All-America honors from Soccer Buzz on Thursday, while junior midfielder Meghan Anderson and senior defender Jenny Benson claimed second-team All-America honors. Senior goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc was named a third-team All-American.

Latham, the Big 12 Player of the Year, led the Huskers with 57 points on 23 goals and 11 assists. Her point total marked the second-best single-season offensive output in Husker history, behind Kim Engesser's 61-point effort in 1998. Also the Big 12 Tournament MVP, Latham scored at least one goal in all but seven of the Huskers' 24 games, and notched six multiple-goal games.

A Calgary, Alberta, native, Latham currently ranks fifth in Husker history with 86 career points and fifth on NU's all-time chart with 35 goals. Latham, who was also a Missouri Athletic Club National Player-of-the-Year finalist, earned offensive player-of-the-week honors from the conference on both Oct. 2 and Oct. 9, posting a total of 11 points against Missouri, Kansas, Texas and Texas A&M.

Anderson, a first-team All-Big 12 selection, finished her junior campaign with 39 points on 12 goals and 15 assists. Anderson has posted 38 goals and 36 assists through her career. If she continues her pace, Anderson would eclipse Lindsay Eddleman's career mark of 127 points sometime next season.

An Omaha, Neb., native, Anderson's nine multiple-goal games ranks fourth in Husker history, while her 38 goals sits fourth and her 36 assists rank her second to Benson. Anderson, who was also a Missouri Athletic Club National Player-of-the-Year finalist, was named the Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Aug 28. She was also named to the Big 12 All-Tournament team.

Benson, who moved to defender this year from the midfield, helped the Huskers notch a school-record 16 shutouts in 24 games, while posting a school-record goals-against average of 0.42. Offensively, Benson added four goals and nine assists in 2000, upping her career point total to 99. She finished as NU's all-time assist leader with 47.

A four-time All-Big 12 Conference selection, Benson earned all-tournament honors for the fourth consecutive season after posting four assists in three tournament games this year. The Huskers won both the regular-season and conference titles in 2000. Benson, who was a Missouri Athletic Club National Player-of-the-Year finalist, earned Big 12 Defender-of-the-Week honors and Soccer America Team-of-the-Week honors after helping NU shut out Baylor (Sept. 22) and Creighton (Sept. 24).

LeBlanc, a Hermann Trophy Award finalist, finished the season with an 0.40 goals-against average, which ranked fourth nationally. A second-team all-conference selection, LeBlanc's career goals-against average of 0.54 ranks seventh in NCAA Division-I history, while her scoreless streak of 710:22, which was snapped on Oct. 8, was the 11th longest in Division-I history.