A-Sun Names Women�s Soccer Postseason Awards
MACON, Ga. - The Atlantic Sun Conference announced its 2009 Women’s Soccer awards and All-Conference teams on Thursday with representatives from each of the four schools that finished within one point of the regular-season crown, Belmont, Kennesaw State, FGCU and Stetson, winning one of the league’s superlative awards.
Stetson’s Tessa Gavilsky picked up her second-consecutive Player of the Year award as she drove the Hatters to a 10-6-2 record and the No.
3 seed in the A-Sun Women’s Soccer Championships. Kennesaw State’s Bridget Gaughan earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. The senior led the Owls to a share of the conference regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships. FGCU’s Danielle Faller picked up Freshman of the Year honors becoming the second Eagle in three years to earn the award. Belmont head coach Lisa Howe earned Coach of the Year honors as she directed the Bruins to their first-ever regular-season conference title. Howe becomes the first coach to ever earn the Atlantic Sun Conference Coach of the Year honor three times.
Gavilsky picked up Player of the Year and first-team All-Atlantic Sun honors for the second consecutive season. The junior midfielder led the Atlantic Sun in points, tied for the league lead in goals and ranked second in the A-Sun in assists. The Granite City, Ill. native became Stetson’s all-time scoring leader this season. The integrative health science major enters A-Sun Championships first on the Hatters all-time assists list and one goal shy of becoming Stetson’s all-time goal scoring leader. Gavilsky becomes the first player to repeat as A-Sun Player of the Year since Mirela Ninic from Mercer won the award in 1997 and 1998.
Gaughan becomes the fourth Owl to capture Defense Player of the Year honors. The nursing major sits as the only four-year letterwinner among Kennesaw State distinguished senior class. The Marietta, Ga. native will go down in history as one of the top defenders in history of the program. After earning Second Team All-Conference honors the past two seasons, Gaughan picked up First-Team All-Atlantic Sun honors this season.
Faller joins fellow Eagle Lindsay Haw as the only FGCU players to win Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year honors - Haw won in 2007. The rookie midfielder started in all 19 games for FGCU and racked up four points on the year including the Eagles game-winning goal
against Army. The Elizabethtown, Pa. native helped the Eagles to a third-place finish in the A-Sun regular season and a near perfect 6-1-2 home record.
Belmont Head Coach Lisa Howe earned Atlantic Sun Coach of the Year honor after leading the Bruins to their first-ever regular-season conference crown. Howe coached the Bruins to their first A-Sun Championship appearance in 2007 and led Belmont to the conference championships in 2008. In 2008, she helped Belmont to 11 regular season win marking only the third time in school history the Bruins earned 11 or wins in a season. Her win marked the third time that Howe has claimed the award as she earned it twice as the head coach of Jacksonville State (1999 and 2002).
The Bruins put four student-athletes on the First-Team All-Atlantic Sun team, a league best. Sophomore Sari Lin earned a spot after leading the A-Sun in shutouts, goals-against average and save percentage. Sophomore defender Gretchen Sutch also picked up first-team all-league honors as Belmont allowed a conference-best 14 goals and boasted a leading +1.06 scoring margin. Junior Jayme Trocino earned a spot on the first-team by leading the Bruins in points and tying for the conference lead in goals. Junior Erica Carter joins her teammates on the First-Team All-Atlantic Sun team after ranking fourth on the team in points with eight during the regular season. The Bruins also feature the only unanimous selection to the all-freshman team in Laura Harris.
Caitlin Dingle joins Gaughan on the First-Team All-Atlantic Sun from Kennesaw State, while Maylee Attin-Johnson and Kristen Marietta earned second-team honors for the Owls. Dingle led the Owls in points and goals while tying for the team lead in assists. Dingle ranked sixth in the conference in points and second in the league in points per game. Marietta ranked third on the Owls with 11 points including four goals on the season. A-Sun Preseason Player of the Year Attin-Johnson racked up six points on the year
after returning from an injury in 2008. Jade Dempster picked all-freshman honors after posting 14 points during the regular season.
Four FGCU student-athletes received conference honors led by Katherine Correllus and Amber McCall, both earned First-Team All-Atlantic Sun honors. McCall tied for fourth in the conference in points and tied for third in goals. Correllus and the Eagle defense led the Eagles to a third-place finish in the conference standings. Goalkeeper Stephanie Powers garnered Second-Team All-Atlantic Sun laurels after posting the league’s second-best save percentage and goals-against average. Powers also tied for second in the A-Sun in shutouts with seven. In addition to her Freshman of the Year honor, Faller also picked up All-Freshman honors.
2008 A-Sun Freshman of the Year Mercer’s Olivia Tucker continues to pick up awards in 2009, as she earned first-team all-conference honors. Tucker, a preseason all-league selection, led the Bears in points and goals. ETSU senior Jordan Monty made the All-Atlantic Sun First-Team after two years on the Second Team. Monty led the Bucs in points posting 13 on the season including four goals and five assists.
Jacksonville’s Devon Dowell, Jessica Hurtado and Liz Fink join FGCU’s Powers and the Owls’ Attin Johnson and Marietta on the All-Atlantic Sun Second-Team along with Mercer’s Kacie Hudson and Sara Elliot, Campbell’s Marisa Muller, UNF's Katelin Swift and Stetson’s Heather Berg.
USC Upstate’ Ashlee Barrow, Campbell’s Jeannie Borda, Stetson’s Christina Cromwell, Jacksonville’s Lisa Hensley and Eva Leeper, Michele Larrinaga of UNF, Mercer’s Patricia Anne Upson and Lipscomb’s Katie Wood join Belmont’s Harris, Kennesaw State’s Dempster and Freshman of the Year FGCU’s Faller on the all-freshman team.
The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners f
or Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.
| Pos. |
Player (Yr.)
|
School |
| GK |
Sari Lin (So.)
|
Belmont |
| D |
Katherine Correllus (So.)
|
FGCU |
| D |
Bridget Gaughan (Sr.)
|
Kennesaw State |
| D |
Gretchen Sutch (So.)
|
Belmont |
| MF |
Jayme Trocino (Jr.)
|
Belmont |
| MF |
Tessa Gavilsky (Jr.)
|
Stetson |
| MF |
Amber McCall (Jr.)
|
FGCU |
| MF |
Olivia Tucker (So.)
|
Mercer |
| F |
Jordan Monty (Sr.)
|
ETSU |
| F |
Caitlin Dingle (Sr.)
|
Kennesaw State |
| F |
Erica Carter (Jr.)
|
Belmont |
| Pos. |
Player (Yr.)
|
School |
| GK |
Stephanie Power (So.)
|
FGCU |
| D |
Devon Dowell (Jr.)
|
Jacksonville |
| D |
Kacie Hudson (
Jr.)
|
Mercer |
| D |
Marissa Muller (So.)
|
Campbell |
| MF |
Jessica Hurtado (So.)
|
Jacksonville |
| MF |
Liz Fink (So.)
|
Jacksonville |
| MF |
Maylee Attin-Johnson (Sr.)
|
Kennesaw State |
| F |
Kristen Marietta (So.)
|
Kennesaw State |
| F |
Heather Berg (Sr.)
|
Stetson |
| F |
Sara Elliot (Jr.)
|
Mercer |
| F |
Katelin Swift (Sr.)
|
UNF |
|
Player
|
School |
|
Ashlee Barrow
|
USC Upstate |
|
Jennie Borda
|
Campbell |
|
Christina Cromwell
|
Stetson |
|
Jade Dempster
|
Kennesaw State |
|
Danielle Faller
|
FGCU |
|
Laura Harris*
|
Belmont |
|
Lisa Hensley
|
Jacksonville |
|
Michele Larrinaga
|
UNF |
|
Eva Leeper
|
Jacksonville |
|
Paatricia Anne Upson
|
Mercer |
|
Katie Wood
|
Lipscomb |
* - Unanimous Selection
Player of the Year: Tessa Gavilsky, Stetson
Defensive Player of the Year: Bridget Gaughan, Kennesaw State
Freshman of the Year: Danielle Faller, FGCU
Coach of the Year: Lisa Howe, Belmont