EDISON, N.J. – As part of their 35th anniversary celebration, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) released their selections for the best players in conference history for the fall sports season, and Fairfield women's soccer alum Ahna Johnson was a part of it.
Johnson '09 was named to the MAAC 35th Anniversary Second Team for all fall sports as the league office announced today. Johnson's impact on the program is still felt today through her accomplishments both on and off the pitch.
“This is a great honor for both Ahna and our program,” Head Coach Jim O'Brien said. “Ahna's success on both the soccer field and in her academic endeavors speaks volumes of her commitment to both a representative of our athletics department and the Fairfield University community. We are all very proud of Ahna for being selected by the MAAC for this prestigious award.”
O'Brien was the coach who brought Johnson to Fairfield and together their teams would enjoy two MAAC Championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Arguably the best player in Fairfield's program history, Johnson would help elevate the Fairfield women's soccer program back to its place as a consistent MAAC power, winning the two most recently conference titles in program history.
Johnson's best campaign came during her senior season when she led the Stags to the 2008 MAAC title by scoring a hat trick in the Championship game against Loyola, en route to her clear selection as the tournament's MVP. During that campaign, the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year tallied 15 goals which still ranks third in program history. She would also become the program's first and thus far only All-American during that season as she led the team to a 15-5-3 overall record.
Johnson's true strengths, however, came off the pitch where she earned a 3.95 GPA entering her senior season as a double major in Physics and Information Systems. She was the MAAC's nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year and was a Finalist for the Lowe's Senior Class award. She also was the first-ever Stag to be named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team.
Johnson was joined on the anniversary team with Joanne Saunders (volleyball, First Team), Michael O'Keeffe (men's soccer, First Team), and Jim McElderry (men's soccer, Second Team).
