GREENSBORO, N.C. - Ashley Avelino will represent UNCG women's soccer on this year's list of Southern Conference postseason honorees, with the redshirt-sophomore defender receiving Second Team All-SoCon nods this Thursday.
Ashley Avelino
Second Team All-SoCon Defender
Redshirt Sophomore | Defense | Ramseur, N.C.
• First career All-Southern Conference selection
• Played every minute of the Spartans' five shutouts in 2021
• Scored a pair of goals, including a game-winner at Western Carolina
• Turned in a team-high 1,013 minutes played, putting her on the pitch for all but 17 of the Spartans' competitive minutes this year
• UNCG has turned in 10 clean sheets over the past two years with Avelino in the lineup
Avelino has been a regular on the Spartan backline for the past two years, starting in all but three of her team's 31 matches since 2019. In addition to playing every minute of UNCG's five clean sheets in 2021, Avelino opened her scoring account this year, tallying the first of her career on the road against ETSU on a set piece opportunity. The redshirt-sophomore doubled her career total just two days later in Cullowhee, scoring one of the conference's goals of the year on a backheel volley against Western Carolina for the game-winning tally. Playing a total of 1,013 minutes throughout the 2021 campaign, Avelino was on the pitch for all but 17 minutes of her team's season, and was a key contributor to UNCG's shutout draw with NC State at the start of the spring.
The Spartans allowed just 0.79 goals per 90 minutes this season to rank fourth in the conference, with that average dropping to 0.76 in SoCon play. Allowing just nine goals, this year's Spartan defense beat the previous program record of just 13 goals allowed by the 2010 UNCG roster. With the restructuring of the Southern Conference tournament shortening the field to just four teams this spring, UNCG fell just two points shy of a trip to this year's SoCon Championship tournament and their 28th consecutive trip to the postseason.
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