MISSION, KS - Senior goalkeeper Ryan Levine (Stroudsburg/Stroudsburg) and senior back Shannon Gleason (Lancaster/Hempfield) will go down in history as the first West Chester University womens soccer players to claim All-American honors.
The 2003 National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas Womens NCAA Division II All-America Team was announced by the organization from its publicity bureau in Mission, KS, and featured both players.
Levine and Gleason completed their Golden Ram careers by leading WCU to its first NCAA Division II Playoff appearance and its first NCAA II Playoff victory. Both players were also selected All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference First Team for their outstanding seasons.
The Golden Rams beat PSAC Champion Slippery Rock 3-0 in the Northeast Region Semifinal before falling to Adelphi in the regional title match. Head coach Deb Flaherty and her troops completed the season 12-6-3 overall.
Their 9-1-2 PSAC mark left the Golden Rams with a team record for conference victories and a share of the regular-season crown.
In the NCAA II Playoff victory vs. Slippery Rock, Levine stopped all eight shots on goal, including a brilliant hand save as she was moving in the opposite direction of the attempt. The four-year letterwinner would go on to record her 29th career shutout - a record she has held since her junior year.
Levine completed the season with a 12-6-3 overall mark and a 1.09 goals against average. She finished her Golden Ram career at WCU with a school record 480 saves and an all-time WCU low .086 goals against average. Her 37 career victories is the third-highest total in WCU history and she owns a 37-28-8 overall record.
Twice in her career Levine has posted more than 400 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal.
Gleason closes out her career as an integral part of Ryans goalkeeping success. A repeat All-PSAC First Team member after garnering conference honors last year, Gleason contributed five goals, one assist and 11 points during her 55-game career.
But her forte was preventing too many opportunities on Levine while also jump-starting the Golden Ram transition game.
