NEW YORK – With the BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship, presented by Jeep, kicking off today, the league announced the All-BIG EAST Teams and major award winners for the 2016 regular season. BIG EAST co-regular-season champions DePaul and Marquette claimed two major awards apiece, while nationally ranked Georgetown garnered a major award and a conference-best seven All-BIG EAST certificates. St. John’s rounded out the major award winners as senior Diana Poulin was crowned BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year for a third consecutive season.
DePaul’s Alexa Ben was the unanimous pick for BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year, while fellow Blue Demon Abby Reed was tabbed BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year. Marquette’s Morgan Proffitt was selected BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year while the Golden Eagles, led by head coach Markus Roeders, were voted BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year. Georgetown’s Amanda Carolan rounded out the honorees as BIG EAST Freshman of the Year.
Poulin becomes the first BIG EAST keeper to three-peat since Villanova’s Jillian Loyden did so 2005-07. The senior St. John’s goalie posted five shutouts in nine conference games this season, showing an .875 save percentage and 0.64 goals against average. Over 18 total games this year, Poulin boasts the nation’s 12
th-best GAA (0.474), ninth-highest save percentage (0.882) and the fifth-most shutouts (11). Poulin has 31 career clean sheets, entering the postseason ranked eighth among active career leaders. The senior was also named to the All-BIG EAST First Team.
Reed capped off her senior season of BIG EAST play as the conference leader in shots (4.44/game), points (2.00/game) and goals (0.78/game) while ranking tied for third in assists (0.44/game). DePaul was the BIG EAST scoring leader at 7.89 points per game, 2.78 goals per contest and 2.33 assists per tilt, led by Reed’s efforts. The senior forward enters the postseason ranked in the top 50 nationally in points, goals and shots per game. Reed was one of two unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team picks along with teammate Ben. Reed is DePaul’s first BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year since the Blue Demons joined the league in 2005.
Ben also becomes the first BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year out of DePaul, helping to facilitate that high-powered offense which charged the Blue Demons to a regular-season title share with Marquette. The junior middie totaled 11 points in conference play, including five goals and one assist. In 16 games played overall, Ben boasts 17 points (7g, 3a). Ben earns All-BIG EAST First Team honors for a second consecutive year.
Proffitt’s first BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year certificate becomes the fourth for Marquette and first for the Golden Eagles since 2012 (Ally Miller). The senior All-BIG EAST First Team pick anchored MU’s defense which collected four shutouts in conference play and posted a 0.97 goals against average. Proffitt was dangerous on the other side of the field as well, scoring three goals, including two in Friday’s finale win which clinched a share of the regular-season title. Proffitt earns All-BIG EAST First Team honors for a second consecutive year.
Marquette finished atop the regular-season standings (tied with DePaul) for the first time since going 9-0-0 in 2013. In 12 seasons since joining the BIG EAST, the Golden Eagles have won six conference or divisional regular-season titles. Head coach Markus Roeders earned career win No. 300 last week with Marquette catching fire just in time as the Golden Eagles enter the postseason as winners of seven of their last eight and nine of their last 11. Marquette is 11-6-2 overall and 7-2-0 in BIG EAST play. This is the fifth time Roeders and the MU staff has garnered the league’s top coaching honor.
Carolan, a redshirt-freshman forward, is the BIG EAST’s top scoring rookie, totaling five goals and 12 points to rank fifth among all league players in both categories. The bulk of Carolan’s production has come in conference play, including two multi-goal games and three game-winning goals. The redshirt-freshman also scored a notable goal in the Hoyas’ upset win over then-No. 3/3 Virginia. Overall, Carolan ranks fourth on Georgetown with 17 points off seven goals and three assists. She is the Hoyas’ first BIG EAST Freshman of the Year since Ingrid Wells in 2007. Carolan was one of two unanimous BIG EAST All-Freshman Team selections.
Georgetown and DePaul each placed three players on the All-BIG EAST First Team, with Ben and Reed joined by teammate Taylor Schissler, a senior defender. Schissler led a DePaul back line which allowed multiple goals just twice this league season as the Blue Demons outshot their opponents 133-44, including 73-23 in strikes on goal.
The trio of All-BIG EAST First Team Hoyas include junior midfielder Rachel Corboz, graduate student defender Marina Paul and senior forward Grace Damaska. Paul led a Georgetown defense which posted the stingiest goals against average in league play this season, surrendering just 0.56 goals per game and posting a 0.53 GAA. The Hoyas allowed multiple goals just once in league play, while earning a notable non-conference clean sheet at then-No. 2/1 West Virginia. Corboz and Damaska finished the regular season with 28 points apiece to rank tied for second among BIG EAST players, while Corboz boasts the top assists mark at 10, four of which came in league play. Damaska tied with fellow first-team selection Lauren Sullivan of Creighton for the conference lead in goals with 12, with the Hoya forward totaling four game winners to rank second in the conference.
Sullivan and Damaska each rank 25
th among all NCAA players in total goals (12), with Sullivan having the narrow advantage in goals per game (0.71) to rank 23
rd in that category to Damaska’s 29
th. The Creighton senior forward finishes her career ranked second all-time in career goals (32) in Omaha, and set a program record for consecutive games with a goal (eight) this season as well. Sullivan becomes the first CU player to garner All-BIG EAST First Team honors since the Bluejays joined the league in 2013.
Senior midfielder Serina Kashimoto represented Butler on the All-BIG EAST First Team for a third consecutive year, while sophomore defender Anna Maria Baldursdottir joined Poulin as St. John’s honorees. Kashimoto enters the postseason with 25 points off nine goals and seven assists, all of which lead the Bulldogs. Baldursdottir anchors a Red Storm defense which has a league-high 11 shutouts while also owning the BIG EAST’s top goals against average (0.52) and fewest goals allowed (10).
For All-BIG EAST Second Team selections, Georgetown and Providence led the way with three honorees apiece, followed by DePaul with two. Butler, Marquette, St. John’s and Xavier all added a second-team selection as well. The 11-player BIG EAST All-Freshman Team included unanimous picks Carolan and Marquette goalkeeper Maddy Henry. Villanova led the way with three all-rookie picks, while Butler and the Golden Eagles boasted a pair of certificates. Creighton, DePaul and Seton Hall also had representatives on the all-freshman team.
All-BIG EAST First and Second Teams are made up of 11 student-athletes, including one goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders, three forwards and one at-large selection, with this year’s Second Team having one additional player due to a tie in voting. The All-Freshman Team is made up of the 11 highest ranked rookies on the coaches’ ballots, regardless of position. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players.
All-BIG EAST First Team
Diana Poulin, St. John’s, Sr., GK
Taylor Schissler, DePaul, Sr., D
Marina Paul, Georgetown, Grad., D
Anna Maria Baldursdottir, St. John’s, So., D
Alexa Ben, DePaul, Jr., M*
Rachel Corboz, Georgetown, Jr., M
Serina Kashimoto, Butler, Sr., M
Abby Reed, DePaul, Sr., F*
Lauren Sullivan, Creighton, Sr., F
Grace Damaska, Georgetown, Sr., F
Morgan Proffitt, Marquette, Sr., M
All-BIG EAST Second Team^
Kristyn Shea, Providence, Sr., GK
Elizabeth Wenger, Georgetown, Jr., D
Shannon McDevitt, Butler, Jr., D
Hannah Wear, Providence, Sr., D
Liz Bartels, Marquette, Sr., M/F
Lucy Edwards, DePaul, Jr., M
Allie Moar, St. John’s, Jr., M
Franny Cerny, DePaul, So., F
Crystal Thomas, Georgetown, Grad., F
Samantha Dewey, Xavier, So., F
Kathryn Hiller, Providence, Grad., M/F
Arielle Schechtman, Georgetown, So., GK
BIG EAST All-Freshman Team
Amanda Carolan, Georgetown, R-Fr., F*
Maddy Henry, Marquette, Fr., GK*
Kristin Barbour, Villanova, Fr., M
Avery Hay, DePaul, Fr., D
Kyra Cooke, Butler, R-Fr., D
Conner Huggins, Villanova, Fr., D
Taryn Jakubowski, Creighton, Fr., M
Emily Hess, Marquette, Fr., D
Ida DiClemente, Villanova, Fr., F
Hannah Luedtke, Butler, Fr., GK
Marissa Aniolowski, Seton Hall, Fr., F/D
*Unanimous selection
^Extra player added due to a tie in voting
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Abby Reed, DePaul, Sr., F
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Morgan Proffitt, Marquette, Sr., M
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Alexa Ben, DePaul, Jr., M*
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Diana Poulin, St. John’s, Sr., GK
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Amanda Carolan, Georgetown, R-Fr., F
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
Marquette