PALATINE, Ill. – The Harper College women's soccer team boasted six players that earned postseason honors, the team announced at the Fall Athletic banquet on Wednesday evening.  Leah Tednes (Hoffman Estates, Ill., Hoffman Estates), Amanda Herdegen (Hoffman Estates, Ill., Fremd) and Bree Nishibun (Palatine, Ill., Fremd) all represented the Hawks on the N4C's All-Conference and All-Region First Team while Elizabeth Tapia (Hanover Park, Ill., Schaumburg), Chloe Takala (Hoffman Estates, Ill., Fremd) and Samantha Rill (Hoffman Estates, Ill., Schaumburg) were selected to the Second Team.  Harper finished the season with a record of 9-7 while going 4-3 in conference play.  The Hawks season ended with a 5-3 loss to College of DuPage in the Region IV Championship.  In addition, Herdegen, Rill and Tiffany Jost (Hoffman Estates, Ill., Schaumburg) were honored as scholar athletes.
 
Tednes, who was also an All-America nominee, scored 13 goals this season to lead the Hawks.  The first-year forward was at her best when the team needed it most, in the Region IV tournament.  As a warmup for the postseason, Tednes scored twice in leading Harper to a 2-1 victory over Oakton Community College on Oct. 16.  Nine days later in the Region IV semifinals, she notched a hat-trick to propel Harper past Joliet Junior College 4-1.  Tednes finished the season with two goals in the Region IV Championship loss at DuPage, capping off a three-game stretch in which she scored seven goals.
 
“She had a really good season,” Cruz said.  “She played great for us up top and great for us in the middle.  We asked her to cover for people anytime that there was an injury, which happened a lot.”
 
Herdegen battled injuries in her second season with Harper but when healthy, was a dominating presence on the backline for Harper.  She rolled her ankle in the final game of the regular season against Oakton and then played 20 minutes in the Region IV semifinals before rolling her other ankle.  Herdegen, however, still played in the Region IV Championship up front because she couldn't clear the ball on the backline with her ankles injuries.  She was voted the team's Most Valuable Player by her teammates.
 
“She had two great years here,” Cruz said.  “Looking back on it, she did a great job of preparing us all to be ready for the end of the season.  After the Joliet game, there was no way she was going to miss the finals again.  We played her up top and she did a great job for us.  With her healthy and our three backs on the backline, I think that DuPage would have trouble with us.  So not being able to put her back there obviously hurt us.”
 
Nishibun showed her versatility, contributing on both sides of the field.  She finished the season with four goals and two assists but it was her play as a defender that enabled the Hawks to get away with playing only three defenders when most teams use four defenders.
 
“She was a huge part of our team this year,” Cruz said.  “We ask our center midfielder to cover for our defenders when they are forced out of position and she did a great job of that for us.”
 
Tapia also played center-mid, teaming up with Nishibun to contribute on both offense and defense.  She typically had the chore of marking the other team's top scorer.
 
“Liz marked #1 goal scorer in the country in region final and did a great job of it,” Cruz said.  “She only had one against us the first time we played them.  Throughout the season our goal was to shut her down and Liz was a big part of it.”
 
Takala was a force up front for Harper all season long, scoring eight goals to go along with four assists.  Her top game was against Century College on Sept. 24 when she tallied four goals.
 
“Chloe played up top the whole season, played back in last game,” Cruz said.  “She played defense her whole career in high school and she was very comfortable making the switch for us and did a nice job in the last game.”
 
Rill helped anchor a solid backline in her second season with the Hawks.  Because of injuries, she stepped up in the final and played the center back position, which she had never done before.  Rill was also honored as a scholar athlete for her work in the classroom.
 
“Sam is a great kid and a great defender,” Cruz said.  “Last year, I praised her more than anyone I ever have here because of her work ethic, which was outstanding.  This year, I expected her to be better than she was last year so I was on her every day.  I bugged her every day this season to be her best because I always said that if I had 11 players like Sam, I could beat anyone.  She had a great season and did a great job as one of our three backs.”