Trio of honors for Gilliland

December 12, 2012 | Filed under: Blue Nation Blog,Sports,Women's Soccer | Posted by:

Arin Gilliland (16) advances the ball during the women's UK vs South Carolina game in Lexington, Ky., on Friday, October 19, 2012. Photo by Matt Burns | Staff

Sophomore forward Arin Gilliland has been named in the 2012 National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-South Region Team.

The Lexington native led UK (14-7-1, 8-5-1 SEC) to its first NCAA Tournament win in program history in 2012.

“It is such an honor to receive an award like this,” Gilliland said. “It is great to be able to represent my family, coaches, teammates and the University of Kentucky as a whole. I am only a sophomore, so I hope to continue to bring pride to this program along with my team and leave a legacy that is never forgotten.”

Being named in the All-South Region Team is the third accolade for Gilliland this close season.

She was also named in the All-SEC first team, while Collegesoccermadness.com included her in the All-America third team for 2012.

UK head coach Jon Lipsitz was pleased that his star player’s achievements have been recognised.

“It is a great honor for Arin to be named to this distinguished list for the 2012 season,” Lipsitz said. “Arin is someone who embeds the core principles of our program each season, and it shows with her play on the field. There are some tremendous players in the south region, so for her to be selected to the first team is quite an accomplishment, and something she, and her teammates are to be commended for.”