KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Just days after being announced as a first team All-Region selection, Capital University's
Avery Hart has been voted a second team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches.
Hart's honor comes as just the sixth All-American accolade in program history and the first since Mariah Richards earned third team honors in 2015. Avery joins Richards, Maggie Donnellan, Hilary Ells, Molly Sheils, and Leslie Stechshulte as the only All-Americans in program history.
This award marks just one more for Hart after a phenomenal senior season as she has been named the OAC Forward of the Year, All-OAC first team, All-Region first team, and now All-American second team.
On the field this year, Avery scored 12 goals and handed out six assists and helped Capital win the OAC Regular Season and qualify as an at-large team to the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 12-4-3.
Her season started with two goals in each of her first two games on the road at then No. 12 ranked Case Western Reserve (now No. 4) and at Mt. St. Joseph. In the next five games, Hart remained mum statistically, but was still one of the most dangerous players on the field, causing havoc for her opposition and freeing up space for her teammates to score the goals.
Finally, Hart got back on the scoresheet with a headed goal in a 2-1 win at Otterbein and then she followed that up with two assists in a dominant win over Wilmington. Two games later, Avery added a goal and two assists in a comfortable 4-0 win at Muskingum and followed it up with yet another assist in a win against Mount Union.
Two games later, Hart erupted for three goals in a 3-0 win on the road at John Carroll. That output kickstarted a string of four consecutive games with goals as she scored once vs. Heidelberg, once vs. Baldwin Wallace and once vs. John Carroll in the OAC Tournament. She also assisted
Sophia Leonetti's tying goal in the dying moments vs. BW to give the Comets the OAC Regular Season title.
Her selection by the United Soccer Coaches makes her just one of three men or women from the OAC to earn All-American honors. She joins Ohio Northern's Kylie Cabana and John Carroll's Izac Coleman who both earned third team honors in their respective voting processes.
Hart is Capital's first athletic All-American since Josh Miller in the spring of 2021 and the first female athletic All-American since LeAnna Cotton and Mariah Richards in 2015. Her award now brings Capital's total number of All-American selections to 131.
