By Timothy Walsh, Athletics Communications Writer

SALEM, ORE. -- Three Willamette University women's soccer student-athletes have been selected to the 2013 All-Northwest Conference Team. Honors were voted upon by the eight head coaches throughout the league.

Sarah Desautels (Jr., MF/F, Snohomish, WA/Glacier Peak HS) was selected Second Team All-NWC, while Rachel Fleener (So., F, Olympia, WA/Olympia HS), and Emma Sanders (Fr., MF, Kennewick, WA/Southridge HS) received Honorable Mention All-NWC.

Second Team All-Northwest Conference

Sarah Desautels (Jr., MF/F) earned Second Team recognition this year after being named Honorable Mention All-NWC in 2012. In 2013, she led the Bearcats in every major offensive category: goals (4), assists (2), points (10), shots (72), and shots on goal (37).

Desautels also led Willamette in minutes played (1740) and games started (19), while serving as the team's primary provider on corner kicks, taking 36 over the course of the year.

On Oct. 20, Desautels supplied the game-winning assist in a 1-0 double-overtime victory over George Fox University. With just three seconds left in the game, she fired a line-drive corner kick that connected with the head of teammate Jill Phillips, giving WU the win.

In her three years as a Bearcat, Desautels has played in 60 matches, notching 12 goals, four assists, 135 shots, and 69 shots on goal.

Honorable Mention All-Northwest Conference

Rachel Fleener(So., F)scored four goals in 2013, tying Desautels for the Willamette team lead. In addition to her impressive goal scoring rate, Fleener also finished second on the Bearcats' charts in points (8), shots (22), and shots on goal (13).

In the Bearcats' season finale on Nov. 9, Fleener provided Willamette with a memorable goal, scoring on a 30-yard shot just 50 seconds into the first overtime period to snatch a 1-0 victory for the Bearcats.

Emma Sanders (Fr., MF) provided steady play in Willamette's midfield this year, despite competing in her first year of collegiate soccer. After appearing as a substitute in the Bearcats' first five games, Sanders started each of WU's last 15 contests.

In three different games this season, Sanders played 110 minutes (regulation and two overtimes), including back-to-back games on Oct. 19 (a 0-0 tie against 20th-ranked Linfield College) and Oct. 20 (a 1-0 victory over George Fox).

She scored her only goal of the year late in the first half of a 1-0 victory at Lewis & Clark College on Oct. 16.

The 2013 Season

The Bearcats got off to a slow start in 2013, but compiled a 3-3-3 mark over their final nine games. Over that stretch, Willamette earned six shutouts (3-0-3 record) and allowed more than one goal just once. Two of the three losses during that stretch were by 1-0 scores.

WU finished the season with an overall record of 5-12-3, including 3-10-3 in the NWC. The Bearcats were 4-8 in one-goal games.