By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — It's was a year of firsts for Saint Mary's University of Minnesota's Maura Michener (Winona, Minn.).
 
• First career two-goal game — which she did three times, including in both of her final two games in a Cardinal uniform.
 
• First career six-point game — which she accomplished during her final collegiate home game.
 
• First player to record 14 goals and 32 points in nearly a decade.
 
And Friday afternoon, the Cardinal senior etched another first onto her resume — first career All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First-Team post-season honor.
 
Michener wasn't the only Cardinal earning post-season accolades either, as freshman defender Lexi Banda (El Paso, Texas) was named to honorable-mention All-MIAC.
 
Michener — who had scored just one goal in her first two seasons in a Saint Mary's uniform — was a conference scoring machine, netting eight goals in the Cardinals' 11 MIAC contests. The senior also added a pair of assists for 18 points. Her eight goals and 18 points both ranked fifth in the MIAC.
 
Fueled by a sizzling finish to the season — which included four goals and two assists in the Cardinals' last two games — Michener closed out her senior campaign leading the team with 14 goals, while also leading the team in points (32) and sharing the top spot in assists (4).
 
Michener's 14 goals and 32 points — ranking her third and fourth, respectively, in the MIAC — were both the most in a single season since Amy Sibik netted 14 goals and recorded 32 points during the 2009 season.
 
Banda was a mainstay on the Cardinals' backline all season, as the freshman started all 11 conference games — not to mention all 18 games overall — and helped solidify a defense that finished the year with a 2.84 goals-against-average in conference play and a 2.18 GAA overall.
 
St. Thomas' Mallory DeBoom was named the MIAC's Offensive Player of the Year, with the Tommies' Tess Baier earning the conference's Defensive Player of the Year honors. Rachel Waterman of Bethel picked up MIAC Rookie of the Year honors, and St. Thomas coach Sheila McGill — who guided UST to the MIAC regular-season title, not to mention the first MIAC Playoff crown in program history — was tabbed MIAC Coach of the Year.
 
The MIAC also announced the 12th annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for women's soccer, which included the Cardinals' Erin McElligott (New York, N.Y.).