#22 Melanie Pickert Season 2012-13

2014 as a Senior… Tabbed as a fourth-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten honoree as a defender by College Sports Madness… first-team NSCAA/Continental Tire All-Great Lakes Region honoree… Academic All-Big Ten honoree… first-team All-Big Ten selection… team captain… selected as Iowa’s Team MVP for a second-straight season… named Iowa’s Defensive MVP for fourth straight season… started all 20 games played in, logging 1,719 minutes… second on the team in goals scored with seven… tied for third in the conference with four game-winning goals, which are tied for the sixth most in a single season in school history… prior to suffering a season-ending injury in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Big Ten Tournament, the defender had started every game of her Iowa career, a streak of 84 games… named to Top Drawer Soccer’s Team of the Week on Sept. 16 after leading Iowa to a pair of shutout victories over Illinois and Northwestern… also named CS 360’s National Primetime Player of the Week on Sept. 16… during a time frame that covered games from Aug. 8 to Oct. 17, she was recognized in Top Drawer Soccer’s Midseason Big Ten player rankings as the second-best defender in the Big Ten and No. 9 overall… Dean’s List honoree during fall and spring semesters… letterwinner.

2013 as a Junior… Second-team All-Big Ten selection… second-team NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region selection… selected as Iowa’s MVP… also named Team Defensive MVP for third straight season… started 23 matches, logging 1,991 minutes… led team in goals (seven), penalty kick goals (three) while tying for team lead in game-winning goals (three)… ranked second on team in points (18) and third in assists (4)… tallied her first career two-goal game — including the game-winner — in a 3-1 triumph over Western Michigan… had a pair of assists in Iowa’s 3-1 victory over Iowa State… scored game-winners in a 2-1 road win at Indiana and in Iowa’s 1-0 victory over No. 20 Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals…named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team… scored Iowa’s lone goal in the 4-1 NCAA Tournament loss at Notre Dame… named to the all-tournament team at the Pacific Soccer Classic… key cog in an Iowa defense that ranked second in the Big Ten in shutouts (10) and fourth in goals against average (1.07) in Big Ten… the 10 shutouts tied an Iowa record… member of an Iowa team that posted a school-record 15 victories, advanced to its first Big Ten Tournament championship game and earned the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance… letterwinner.

2012 as a Sophomore… Started every match at right-center defensive back, logging 1,812 minutes… winner of team’s Defensive Player of the Year award… one of four players in program history to win team’s Defensive Player of the Year award in back-to-back seasons… led defense that set the program record for shutouts in a season (10) and tied the record for fewest goals allowed in a regular season (17)… ranked fifth on the team in points… tallied seven points from one goal and five assists… scored goal on a free-kick against Valparaiso… tallied an assist against Army, LIU-Brooklyn, Saint Louis, Indiana, and Purdue… scored a point in five consecutive matches… anchored defense that ranked third in the Big Ten in goals allowed (19) and goals against average (0.87)… part of team that earned second most wins in a season in program history… Academic All-Big Ten… letterwinner.

2011 as a Freshman… Started every game of the season (20) as a defender… fired eight shots, including two on goal… named the team’s Most Valuable Defensive Player… part of an Iowa defense that allowed an all-time low 17 goals… member of team that set or equaled nine school records… letterwinner.

High School… Three-time all-state selection… team captain as a seniorn… Michigan Dream Team selection as a junior… recorded 14 shutouts during sophomore season… member of the district champions during sophomore season… competed on and was team captain of the Michigan Hawks club team for seven years… played on the national and international level with ODP U17 and U18 teams… four-year letterwinner in basketball… earned scholar athlete recognition her freshman, sophomore and junior years.

Personal… Born July 16, 1993… daughter of Keith and Mary Pickert… uncle, Joe Pickert, played football at UCLA… has four siblings, Emilie, Nathan, Douglas and Brandon… high school coaches were George Tomasso and Janine Reddy… club teams were coached by Adil Salmoni, Tim Ernst and Doug Landefeld… majoring in health and human physiology.