Goalkeeper Jenny Pence, defender Deanna Long and forward Kirby Zak each have been named as honorable mention selections on the 2009 All-Southland Conference women's soccer squad.

Members of the All-Southland team are selected by vote of the league's head coaches and sports information directors.

Pence, a junior from Kingwood, twice earned Southland Conference "Goalkeeper of the Week" honors this season. Starting every match in goal for the Bearkats, Pence was part of six shutouts and totaled 134 saves. She ranks as Sam Houston's all-time leader in career shutouts (14) and goals against average (1.57).

Long, a sophomore from Kelowna, British Columbia, started 18 matches in the Bearkat back line. She earned Southland "Defensive Player of the Week" honors once and was part of the defense that shut out six opponents.

Zak, a freshman from Weatherford, was one of the top goalscorers in Southland Conference with nine goals and nine assists. She twice earned Southland Conference "Offensive Player of the Week" and posted hat tricks in two matches.

Pence, Long and Zak led the 2009 team to a fourth place Southland Conference finish, the Bearkats' highest final regular season standing in the seven year history of the program. The Kats' 5-4 league won-loss total this year marks the first Southland winning record for Sam Houston.

The 5-4 record earned Sam Houston it's third Southland Conference post-season tournament berth. The Bearkats will face UTSA in the first round Thursday at 7 p.m. in Natchitoches, LA. The tournament semi-finals will be Friday night and the finals will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. Winner of the Southland post-season tournament earns the league's automatic NCAA tournament berth.