Ottumwa -- Leading goal-scorer Megan McElmeel and top defender Mel Shepherd are the Indian Hills soccer players named to the All-Region first team in selections released by the conference office. In all, IHCC had six all-region choices, three sophomores and three freshmen.

McElmeel (Waterloo, Iowa), a freshman, led the Warriors and the entire conference with her 17 goals. She also paced the league with 14 assists, her 69 shots, and with 48 points. McElmeel had two goals in IHCC's first six matches, then a hat trick against Scott CC started a string of 15 goals over the last 15 contests.

Freshman Shepherd (Perth, Australia) helped anchor the IHCC defense that propelled the Warriors into the postseason championship game in a 14-6-1 season. She had four goals and one assist, that assist coming on the Warriors' lone goal in the title match double-overtime loss to Iowa Western

Picked for the all-region second team were a pair of sophomores, Hannah Mitchell (Manchester, England) and Stephanie Faust (Grundy Center, Iowa), who were huge contributors in turning the IHCC program around. Mitchell was second on the team with her 12 goals and added six assists. Faust is a repeat all-region selection, having been chosen for the first team last year. The defender had the goal, assisted by Shepherd, in IHCC's 2-1 loss to Iowa Western that ended their season.

Honorable mention honors went to freshman Harriet Jones (Bristol, England) and sophomore Brianna Clark (Sarina, Australia). Jones scored two goals and assisted on six more. Clark was an honorable mention pick for the second straight year. She had a goal and an assist in 2016.

To show the rise in the IHCC program consider that the Warriors have won 26 games over the past two seasons, compared to a total of 19 victories in the previous seven years.