The following is a spotlight on Lyndsey Heckel, Saint Louis University’s nominee for the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year award. The Atlantic 10 institutions nominated a total of 17 outstanding student-athletes for the award (READ MORE). The A-10 will spotlight each of the institutional nominees.
Lyndsey Heckel Profile
In 2022, Lyndsey Heckel became the first Saint Louis women’s soccer student-athlete to earn United Soccer Coaches first-team All-America honors and the first Billiken to be named a Hermann Trophy semifinalist. She was a second-team All-American, the Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, a College Sports Communicators second-team Academic All-American and SLU’s Outstanding Female
Senior Student-Athlete in 2023.
Heckel, who will play a fifth season with the
Billikens in 2024, is one of only two players
in Saint Louis women’s soccer history to
collect first-team All-Conference
honors four times. She garnered
United Soccer Coaches first-team
All-Region plaudits in 2022 and
2023 and is a three-time A-10
Championship All-Tournament choice,
earning Most Outstanding Player accolades in 2022.
Heckel was the 2022-23 recipient of the Chalupny Award
as the female soccer Player of the Year in St. Louis.
From her center-back position, Heckel has helped anchor a SLU defense that has posted a sparkling 0.63 goals against average during her career. She also has contributed 17 goals, including nine game-winners, and six assists to the Billiken attack.
A four-time member of the A-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, Heckel graduated in May with a Bachelor of Science degree in health information management. She regularly volunteers with the Special Needs Soccer Association (SPENSA), a St. Louis-based soccer program for young people with disabilities.
Q & A
If You Could Know the Absolute and Total Truth to One Question, What Question Would You Ask?
Are there any other forms of life out there in our galaxy.
What would you consider the top moment of your college career? Reaching the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history!
What was the hardest obstacle you faced as a student-athlete? Coming into college as a student athlete in Fall of 2020 in the height of COVID-19. There were so many unknowns and logistical rules which made the transition to college that much harder.
What are three words your teammates would use to describe you?
My teammates would describe me Loyal, Dependent, & Determined.
What’s the best piece of advice you have ever received?
Embrace all roles and responsibilities thrown at you, you never know where they might lead you.
What was your favorite class/professor and why?
Both of my professor mentees for my major, Julie Howe and Teresa Neal, were very impactful to me in order for my success in the classroom as well as on the field.
What is the top 3 things on your bucket list?
1) Visit the Amalfi Coast in Italy
2) See all the modern 7 Wonders of the World
3) Go sky diving
