Awards & Honors
- ESPN The Magazine Second-Team Academic All-America (2009)
- Three-Time First-Team Academic All-Big 12 (2007, 2008, 2009)
- Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll (Fall 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009; Spring 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln Dean's List (Fall: 2008, 2009; Spring: 2008, 2009)
- Nebraska Life Skills Connect Program
- W-League All-League Team (2008)
- Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week (9/30/08)
2009 (Senior)
Powell was one of the Huskers' top offensive threats for the third straight year, accounting for 13 points on four goals and five assists. She battled through injury problems at the beginning of the season to start in 17-of-20 games.
Powell came up with her biggest offensive performances in Big 12 play by scoring three goals in league contests. In a two-week span, the forward scored against Texas Tech in a 3-3 tie, netted the game winner in a 2-0 win over Oklahoma State and then scored Nebraska's lone goal in a 1-1 tie vs. Baylor. A complete offensive player, Powell had a hand in Husker history, as she was responsible for the assist that gave teammate Morgan Marlborough a hat trick vs. Akron on Sept. 13. She also had an assist in Marlborough's second hat trick of the season Oct. 11 vs. Oklahoma.
As the squad's most successful student-athlete, Powell was named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Second Team. Her award helped the University of Nebraska increase its nation-leading Academic All-America number to 271 across all sports. She was also a three-time First-Team Academic All-Big 12 selection and earned a spot on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll every semester during college.
2008 (Junior)
For the second consecutive season, Powell led the Huskers in scoring, finishing the 2008 season with 19 points on seven goals and five assists. She notched back-to-back two-goal performances against UAB and Oakland, while earning the game-winning score in both contests. She followed with a three-point performance against North Dakota State with a goal and game-winning assist on Sept. 19, and posted a goal in NU's upset of No. 25 Kansas on Sept. 26. Another game-winning assist propelled the Huskers over Missouri on Sept. 28, while she earned back-to-back assists against Colorado and Texas Tech.
Powell ended the regular season with a goal and assist against Iowa State on Oct. 31, and led the Huskers with five shots, including three on goal, against Colorado in the first round of the Big 12 Championship on Nov. 5. She ended the season averaging more than three shots per game and nearly one point per contest. Powell also led Nebraska in shots (63) and shots on goal (27). In the classroom, she earned first-team academic All-Big 12 honors for the second consecutive year.
2007 (Sophomore)
Powell stepped into a starting role in a big way in 2007 as she finished as Nebraska's leading scorer with 11 points on five goals and one assist. Playing in 18 contests with 15 starts, she was the only Husker to crack double digits in points.
Powell started the season on a hot streak with two goals on eight shots in the first three games. Her goal against Drake on Sept. 5 allowed the Huskers to tie the Bulldogs, while her goal against Missouri State helped secure NU's 2-1 win on Sept. 7.
A quad injury in Nebraska's contest with Tennessee on Sept. 14 caused Powell to miss her only game of the season and the next three starts, but she rebounded with a goal against Texas on Oct. 7, as the Huskers battled the No. 3 Longhorns to overtime. Powell added a goal against No. 3 Texas A&M on Oct. 21, before ending the season with a goal against Missouri and an assist versus Iowa State in the final two games.
Powell notched at least one shot on goal in the final eight games of the season, and put more than half of her shots on goal (15-of-27).
2006 (Freshman)
A solid offensive reserve, Powell played in 16 of NU's 20 games in 2006, including one start in the season-opener against Wright State on Aug. 25. With limited minutes, Powell was extraordinarily productive, scoring the first goal of her career against Iowa State on Sept. 24. Powell played more minutes in each game as the season progressed and gained confidence in her shooting abilities. Overall, Powell launched 11 shots with three on goal in 2006, including a great chance at a goal in Nebraska's win over Oklahoma on Oct. 20, when she fired a shot off a corner kick that was blocked by the Sooner defense.
High School
Without a girls' soccer program at Lutheran High School in Dallas, Texas, Powell played for the boys' team under Coach Kurt Frieling and lettered all four years. Powell was one of the top three scorers for Lutheran three years running and captained the team in her senior year.
Powell also earned state-wide attention as the TAPPS Newcomer of the Year, as well as earning first- and second-team all-district honors during her tenure. She was the leading scorer in the 2005 Division 1 playoffs, a two-time tournament-leading scorer at the Pikes Peak tournament and owns the record for most consecutive goals scored in a game (three) in the Disney Cup.
Academically, Powell was a member of the Lutheran High Honor Roll, National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society. She also earned the President's Award for Excellence.
Other Information
After spending her high school season with the boys' team at Lutheran High, Powell got a chance to test her skills against the girls while playing club soccer for the Sting 88 Royal. Under Coach Eric Dade, Powell helped her team to the 2005 State Cup finals.
Powell spent the summer of 2008 playing for the W-League's Ottawa Fury in Canada, earning the league's player-of-the-week honors in early July.
Personal Information
Shay is the daughter of Monica and Gary Powell and has a sister, Katie, and a brother, Joe. Shay was born July 29, 1988. She is a pre-law psychology major at Nebraska and will graduate in May of 2010.
Worth Noting
During her career, Powell was the only Husker to reach a double-digit point total in her final three seasons. In addition to her academic honors, Powell was also a UNL Superior Scholar in 2010, a three-time UNL Highest Honors Awards Recipient and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa (Alpha Chapter) National Honor Society and Psi Chi National Psychology Honor Society in 2009-10.
Powell's Career Statistics
Year
GP-GS
Shots
SOG
Goals
Assists
Points
2006
16-1
11
3
1
0
2
2007 18-15 27 15 5 1 11 2008 20-20 63 27 7 5 19 2009 18-17 32 11 4 5 13Totals
72-53
133
56
17
11
45
Powell's Career Highs
Points-3 vs. North Dakota State (9/19/09)
Goals-2 twice, last vs. Oakland (9/14/08)
Assists-2 vs. Akron (9/13/09)