ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – The College of Saint Benedict soccer team won 11 games this season – the most since 2014. Of those 11 wins, nine came directly off the foot of junior forward Megan Thompson.
 
After putting together impressive seasons as a first year and sophomore, Thompson had a breakout year in 2019. She finished at the top of the MIAC in points and goals, and in the top 40 in the NCAA in the same categories. After an impressive season and some big numbers, Thompson is the 2019 MIAC Offensive Player of the Year.
 
She is the CSB soccer program's fourth conference player of the year, and the first since Colleen Bouchard won the honor in 2011. From 1994-2014, the conference picked one athlete as the league's player of the year. Starting in 2015, the MIAC split the award into conference offensive and defensive players of the year and rookie of the year.
 
Joining Thompson on the All-MIAC First Team is senior defender Meghan Verkinderen. Junior defender Abby Worthington earned All-MIAC Honorable Mention accolades, and senior Abby Welsch was named to the MIAC Sportsmanship Team. Augsburg keeper Emily Chapman won MIAC Defensive Player of the Year honors, and St. Kate's first year Amanda Elton won Rookie of the Year honors. St. Thomas head coach Sheila McGill won MIAC Coach of the Year honors.
 
Thompson's first game of her junior year proved to be an indicator of how her season would go, as she notched the third hat trick of her career to lift CSB to a 3-2 win over a tough UW-Whitewater squad. She added two more goals against an equally as tough UW-La Crosse team, and racked up the fourth hat trick of her career in a shutout of Concordia. She scored goals in 11 of the team's 18 games, and had at least one point in 13 games. CSB was 0-4-1 in the five games Thompson was held scoreless.
 
When all was said and done this season, Thompson finished with a MIAC-leading 41 points and 18 goals, and also had five assists. Eighteen goals set the CSB record for goals in a season, and is also ranked 32^nd in Division III. Her 42 points leaves her a single point shy of tying the school record for points in a season. The record – 42 points – was set in 1992 by Laurie Westman. Her 42 points is 39^th nationally. Thompson also finished the year third in the nation with nine game-winning goals.
 
This marks the second All-MIAC First Team honor for Thompson, who also earned the honor as a sophomore in 2018. She was named the league's Rookie of the Year in 2017.
 
Verkinderen's first-team honor is the second of her career, and third MIAC honor in her four seasons. She earned All-MIAC First Team accolades as a sophomore in 2017, and honorable mention honors as a junior in 2018. She played in every minute of nine games this season, and led the team with 1,656 minutes played. Verkinderen notched the first goal of her collegiate career on Sept. 21 against Hamline to help the team to a 2-1 overtime win. In four seasons, Verkinderen played 4,763 minutes.
 
Worthington earned the first MIAC honor of her career after a stellar junior season with Saint Benedict's defense. She finished fourth on the team with 1,320 minutes played, and had three shots – including one on net. She played in every minute of the game twice this season, including 110 minutes in a double overtime tie against Macalester. Along with Verkinderen, Worthington was part of a CSB defense that helped record six shutouts and gave up a single goal in seven games in 2019.
 
Welsch earned a spot on the Sportsmanship Team after being a leader on and off the field for CSB's defense as a senior in 2019. She started seven games and played in all 19, and was another key piece of Saint Benedict's tough defense this season. Welsch finishes her career with one goal and one assist, and played more than 1,000 minutes for the team her junior and senior seasons.
 
Saint Benedict finished 2019 11-6-2 overall and 7-3-1 and in fourth in the MIAC. CSB made the MIAC Tournament for the third straight season, and picked up its first tournament win since 2013 after beating Carleton 3-2 on Nov. 5. The team graduates 11 seniors in May.