KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Saint Louis University graduate defender Lyndsey Heckel has been named a "Defender to Watch" for the 2024 season by United Soccer Coaches.
 
Heckel is a two-time United Soccer Coaches All-American, making the second team in 2023 after becoming the first Billiken women's soccer player to earn first-team plaudits in 2022. The center back was the 2023 Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and in 2022 she became the first in program history to be named a Hermann Trophy semifinalist.
 
The St. Louis native begins her fifth season tied for fourth in games started (85), tied for seventh in game-winning goals (nine) and 10th in games played (85) on Saint Louis' career lists. She spearheads a Billiken defense that posted a sparkling 0.63 goals against average and 49 shutouts in her first four seasons.
 
Last year, Heckel helped lead the Bills to A-10 regular-season and tournament championships and their first advancement to the round of 16 in their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. She played a key role in SLU's school-record-tying 15 shutouts, which led the nation, and 0.62 GAA. Heckel also contributed four goals and a career-high four assists, raising her career totals to 17 goals and six helpers.
 
Heckel is one of only two players in SLU women's soccer history to garner first-team All-Conference recognition four times, and one of only nine in program annals to earn four total All-Conference honors. She is a three-time A-10 Championship All-Tournament selection, earning Most Outstanding Player accolades in 2022, and she was the 2022-23 recipient of the Chalupny Award as the female soccer Player of the Year in St. Louis.