CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Atlantic 10 Conference announced its major Women's Soccer Awards Thursday in advance of the 2018 Women's Soccer Championship Semifinals, which begin Friday at Dayton's Baujan Field in Dayton, Ohio.
George Mason standout Emma van der Vorst was named the Offensive Player of the Year, and also took home Rookie of the Year Accolades. Massachusetts' sophomore Jenny Hipp was voted Midfielder of the Year, while Saint Louis junior Alli Klug was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. After completing an unbeaten conference season and earning the top seed in the championship, Billikens' coach Katie Shields earned Coach of the Year honors.
van der Vorst shattered George Mason offensive records this year, tallying a point in 16 consecutive games, previously set at nine in the '99-'00 season. A product of Amsterdam, Netherlands, van der Vorst led the A-10 in goals (14) and points (32) and tied for first in game-winning goals (6) during the regular season. Scoring the most goals by any freshman in the nation, she ranks tied for 10th in goals (14), and tied for 14th in points (32) in all of DI women's soccer. Including the A-10 Championship quarterfinals in which van der Vorst scored the game-winner in double overtime, the rookie has scored in 14 of the last 16 matches. The Patriots are 13-3-0 when the Rookie of the Year records a point. She was also named Rookie of the Week five times during the regular season. It is the first time in A-10 women's soccer history (dating back to 1993) that the same player has earned both Offensive and Rookie of the Year honors.
Hipp, a sophomore from Frankfurt, Germany, was a key part of a UMass offense that posted its most points (120) and goals (37) since 2001 (36g, 129pts). The All Conference first-team selection ranked sixth in the league in total points (20), tied for sixth in assists (6) and tied for eighth in total goals (7). The 20 points were a team-best for the Minutewomen this season.
Klug, a Webster Groves, Mo., native, repeats as A-10 Defensive Player of the Year, marking the third straight year the honor was won by a Billiken, and joins Courtney Hulcer (2005, 2006) on the list of Bills who have earned A-10 DPOTY honors twice. Klug leads a defensive effort that has SLU at the top of the A-10 in goals allowed average (0.49) and shutouts (13), which ties the school record. The Billikens enter the semifinals with a school-record six straight shutouts, and have only allowed three goals in A-10 play this year. Klug has missed just 25 minutes in total this season, anchoring a defensive unit that has allowed just five shots per game on average.
In her sixth season as head coach at Saint Louis, Shields has guided the Billikens to a perfect 10-0 conference record, its first regular-season conference title since 2005, and the top seed in the A-10 Championship. The Billikens set a school record in conference wins, and its 16 overall wins is tied for the best in program history. In the past three seasons under Shields, the Billikens have posted a 24-3-3 A-10 regular-season record, and currently hold the nation’s longest active winning streak (12) in women's soccer (DI). Her 45 overall wins in the last three seasons are the most in the conference.
The league's head coaches voted on the awards and also selected the 11-member First Team and 12-member Second Team All-Conference (as result of a tie), as well as the All-Rookie squad. An 11-member All-Academic team was also selected, based on a vote of the women's soccer media relations directors at each of the 14 member institutions.
Joining van der Vorst, Klug, and Hipp on the All-Conference First Team are Fordham's Brooke Salmon, George Washington's Sofia Pavon, Saint Joseph's Paige Bergman, Dakota Mills, and Michaela Finneyfrock, SLU's Courtney Reimer and Olivia Silverman, and VCU's Samantha Jerabek.
The All-Conference Second Team consists of Dayton's Nadia Pestell, Duquesne's Casey Aunkst, Mason's Emily Littell and Shanon Lee, UMass' Jenna Thomas, SJU's Grace Bendon and Morgan Bower, SLU's Hannah Friedrich, Maddie Pokorny and Olivia Petit, and VCU's Lana Golob and Alyssa Tallent.
The 11-member All-Rookie Team includes Izzy Greene (UD), van der Vorst (MASON), Maria Pareja (GW), Hannah Zaluski (GW), Camaren Cox (LAS), Lauren Bonavita (UM), Mackenzie Ehresman (SJU), Aleska Peev (SJU), Isabel Burke (SLU), Hannah Friedrich (SLU) and Lana Golob (VCU).
The 11-member All-Academic Team includes Natalie Connell (DAV), Kaelyn Johns (UD), Beth Kamphaus (UD), Nadia Pestell (UD), Abby Losco (DUQ), Clara Gastaldi (FOR), Margaret Roughley (FOR), Littell (MASON), Anna Tapen (GW), Gretta LaCouture (SBU), and Alyssa Seitzer (SLU).
The 2018 Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Championship continues Friday with the semifinals, held at Dayton's Baujan Field in Dayton, Ohio. Top-seeded Saint Louis takes on No. 4 George Mason at 1:00 pm, followed by No. 2 VCU and No. 3 Saint Joseph's at 3:30 pm. The winners of those contests will face off in Sunday's Championship final at Noon, with the Champion earning the league's automatic bid to the NCAAs. All three games of this weekend's action will be streamed on ESPN+, the new home of live Atlantic 10 action. Visit Championship Central for more information.