O'Shea earns HCAC honor for third straight year, Walker receives first honor

CARMEL, Ind. - Sophomore defender McKenna Walker (Toledo, Ohio/Springfield) and senior goalkeeper Sarah O'Shea (Cincinnati, Ohio/Seton) were named All-HCAC Honorable Mention as the league announced conference awards Thursday morning. This is the second straight year O'Shea has been named an Honorable Mention and third conference award overall as she was named to the First Team in 2021. This is the first conference honor for Walker. 

The sophomore Walker played and started in all 16 games for the Yellow Jackets and was a critical part of the Defiance backline to apply pressure on opposing offenses. 

The senior O'Shea played and started all 16 games at goalkeeper and recorded a new career high in single season saves with 194. In the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC), O'Shea finished sixth with a save percentage of .743 and led the conference in saves per game with 12.67. Nationally, in all of NCAA Division III, O'Shea currently sits third in saves. 

Under first-year head coach Isabelle Danner, the Yellow Jackets finished the 2023 season with an overall record of 2-12-2 and 0-8 in conference play.