Dec. 5, 2011

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Memphis City Council Vice Chairman Bill Boyd has drafted a resolution to honor the accomplishments of the University of Memphis women's soccer team and will present the resolution to the five-time Conference USA Champions on Tuesday at the Memphis City Council meeting scheduled for 3:30 p.m. in downtown Memphis.

"This group of young ladies and their coaches have literally dominated Conference USA for five-straight years which is truly remarkable in this day and time of parity in college athletics," councilman Boyd said. "We are also very proud of these student-athletes for their extraordinarily high grade-point averages. So, on behalf of all the citizens of Memphis, we pay them tribute and recognition that they so justly deserve."

The Lady Tigers finished the 2011 season with a 22-1-1 record and claimed a fifth-straight C-USA Championship. Memphis joined national champion Stanford as the only program to go undefeated in the regular season.

Led by Lowe's Senior CLASS Award winner Lizzy Simonin, the 2011 senior class capped off an impressive four-year run as the winningest class in program history with 68 wins to couple with four championships. Simonin, the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, helped the Lady Tigers to a single-season school record 15 shutouts. C-USA Offensive Player of the Year Christabel Oduro provided 16 goals and seven assists for a team-high 39 points.

In the classroom, Memphis earned a fifth-straight NSCAA Team Academic Award with a team grade-point average of 3.48. Three Lady Tigers were named to the C-USA All-Academic Team, all with grade-point averages above 3.6.

"It is a tremendous honor for our program to be recognized by the city council and it shows how far our program has come," women's soccer head coach Brooks Monaghan said. "Academics are the number one thing we stress. Our philosophy is that academics come first, soccer second and social life third and if you don't live your life that way you will not succeed. All these awards say a lot about the character of the girls, to not only get it done on the field, but also in the classroom. I am very proud the group of girls we have."