NEW YORK – Heading into the BIG EAST Women’s Soccer Championship as the No. 1 seed for the first time, St. John’s received more good news on Tuesday as the regular-season champion Red Storm claimed four of the league’s six major awards. Senior forward Rachel Daly was unanimously selected as BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, earning the honor for the second time in her career. BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year Georgia Kearney-Perry and BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year Diana Poulin earned the honors for a second consecutive year. Led by head coach Ian Stone, the Red Storm were tabbed Coaching Staff of the Year for the second time. Georgetown sophomore Rachel Corboz was voted BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year, while DePaul’s Franny Cerny was selected BIG EAST Freshman of the Year.
Daly and Kearney-Perry were the lone unanimous selections to the All-BIG EAST First Team. Daly ranks second in the nation with 19 goals (1.06 per game) with nine of those scores being game-winners. Her latest game-winning goal came on Friday against Providence to clinch the BIG EAST regular-season title outright for the Red Storm and increased her career goals total to 50, most in St. John’s history. The Hermann Trophy Watch List member is a three-time All-BIG EAST First Team selection in her career and was recognized as the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week three times in 2015. She enters the postseason on a seven-game scoring streak.
Kearney-Perry has anchored the St. John’s defense which has allowed a league-best nine goals this season to go along with a BIG EAST-high 12 shutouts. The Red Storm have outshot their opponents in 13 of 18 games, averaging nearly 2.3 times more shots on goal than their opponents. The Kearney-Perry-led defense held nine opponents to two or fewer shots on net and eight foes to two or less corner kicks. St. John’s opened the 2015 season with four consecutive shutout victories and enters the postseason allowing just one goal over its last three games. Kearney-Perry becomes the first back-to-back BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year since 2010-11 (Kerry McBride, Marquette) and is a three-time All-BIG EAST First Team pick.
After splitting time through the first half the season, Poulin became St. John’s every day starter three games into BIG EAST play. Over 17 games this season, the junior boasts a 0.65 goals against average and .800 save percentage, both which rank second in the BIG EAST. She has been credited with six shutouts this season though has played in 11 of the Red Storm’s 12 blank sheets. She has surrendered more than one goal just twice this season. Poulin becomes the first back-to-back BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year since 2010-11 (Natalie Kulla, Marquette). She was also voted to the All-BIG EAST First Team for the second straight year.
Stone and the Red Storm staff are honored for the second time after being recognized in 2006. St. John’s has set program records for shutouts (12) and wins (15), while making its first appearance in the NSCAA National Poll since 2009. The Red Storm enter the postseason with the nation’s fifth-best winning percentage (.861; 15-2-1) and listed at No. 26 in the NCAA RPI. St. John’s is the BIG EAST Championship No. 1 seed for the first time as well.
Corboz ranks second to only Daly in BIG EAST play with eight goals and 21 points. The sophomore’s 28 points on the year lead Georgetown, as do her 10 goals and eight assists. Three of Corboz’s 10 scores have been game winners as the Hoyas enter the BIG EAST Championship as the No. 2 seed with an 11-5-2 record. GU is unbeaten over its last five with Corboz earning at least a point in each of those five tilts. The Hoyas finished BIG EAST play with a league-high 23 goals and 62 points while listing third in goals allowed (0.89). Overall, GU’s 41 goals and 149 corners over 18 games played lead the conference. Corboz was also voted to the All-BIG EAST First Team after being a second-team honoree in 2014. Corboz’s older sister Daphne earned Midfielder of the Year honors while playing for the Hoyas in 2013 and 2014.
Cerny was a four-time BIG EAST Freshman of the Week thanks to a rookie regular season which saw six goals and five assists totaled. Cerny’s 17 points rank second on DePaul to All-BIG EAST First Team pick Elise Wyatt. Two of the newcomer’s six goals were credited as game winners coming in her first two career BIG EAST games (at Xavier, Creighton). She has played in all 19 of DePaul’s games this season and started the last 11. Cerny was a unanimous selection to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.
Wyatt was one of three All-BIG EAST First Team picks for DePaul, tying St. John’s for most in the league. The senior forward was joined on the conference’s first squad by senior defender Sarah Gorden and sophomore midfielder Alexa Ben. Wyatt has totaled 29 points off 12 goals and five assists this season, both stats which rank second to only Daly in the conference. Five of Ben’s seven assists have come in BIG EAST action this season to rank tied for second in the league with Corboz, while Gorden has anchored a DePaul defense whose 0.60 goals against average ranks second in the BIG EAST. Additionally, sophomore midfielder Lucy Edwards, senior defender Brianna Ryce and senior goalkeeper Alex Godinez were selected to the All-BIG EAST Second team. Madeline Frick joined Cerny on the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team.
Marquette and Butler each had two players voted to the All-BIG EAST First Team. MU redshirt-senior defender Jacie Jermier and junior midfielder/defender Morgan Proffitt made the first team after sparking a key turnaround to the Golden Eagles’ season. After dropping two of their first three BIG EAST tilts, Jermier and Proffitt anchored the defense which surrendered just two goals over their next five games to go 4-0-1 and qualify for the BIG EAST Championship. Jermier’s four assists in league play ranked fourth in the conference. MU’s Liz Bartels and Darian Powell were selected to the All-BIG EAST Second Team, while Jamie Kutey was a BIG EAST All-Freshman Team honoree.
Butler senior midfielder Sophia Maccagnone earned her third consecutive All-BIG EAST First Team certificate while junior midfielder Serina Kashimoto earned the accolade for the second straight year. The duo rank second and third on the team in points, with Maccagnone totaling 18 off seven goals and four assists, while Kashimoto boasts 15 with five goals and a team-high five dishes. The Bulldogs’ 13-6-1 record is their best since joining the BIG EAST prior to the 2013 season, as is their 6-3 BIG EAST mark and fourth-place finish. Butler had two selections to the All-Freshman Team in leading scorer Halle Stelbasky (9g, 3a), a unanimous pick, and its fourth-leading scorer Paige Monaghan (3g, 3a).
Senior forward/midfielder Catherine Zimmerman represented Providence on the All-BIG EAST First Team for the second straight year. Zimmerman leads the Friars with 16 points off six goals and four assists as PC has set a program record with 12 wins (12-7) this year. The senior’s 5.89 shots per game lead the BIG EAST and rank second nationally. PC’s No. 3 scorer, Casey Etsey, was unanimously voted to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team after totaling 10 points (4g, 2a).
Georgetown led the league with five All-BIG EAST Second Team selections: senior defender Sarah Adams, graduate student goalkeeper Emma Newins, sophomore midfielder Taylor Pak, senior forward Crystal Thomas and sophomore defender Elizabeth Wenger. St. John’s senior midfielder Emily Cubbage and Creighton junior forward and leading scorer Lauren Sullivan (10g, 3a) rounded out the second-team honorees.
St. John’s added two to the All-Freshman Team in Anna Maria Baldursdottir and unanimous pick Lucy Whipp, while Georgetown’s Caitlin Farrell and Xavier’s Samantha Dewey were also uncontested selections. Seton Hall midfielder Eva Gonzalez rounded out the all-rookie honorees.
DePaul’s eight total all-league (first team, second team, freshman) picks led all conference teams, followed by Georgetown’s seven honorees and St. John’s six certificates.
BIG EAST women’s soccer continues for six teams this week, starting Tuesday with the BIG EAST Championship First Round. No. 5 Marquette visits No. 4 Butler after No. 3 DePaul hosts No. 6 Providence. The winners of Tuesday’s first-round contests will travel to Omaha, Neb., to face No. 1 St. John’s and No. 2 Georgetown. The Red Storm will face the winner of Butler-Marquette in Friday’s first semifinal at 5:30 p.m. (ET), followed by the Hoyas tilt against either DePaul or Providence at 8 p.m. All four games leading up to Sunday’s final will stream on the BIG EAST Digital Network, while the championship tilt will air live on FS1 at 12:30 p.m. (ET).
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Rachel Daly, St. John’s, Sr., F*
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Rachel Corboz, Georgetown, So., M
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Georgia Kearney-Perry, St. John’s, R-Sr., D
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Diana Poulin, St. John’s, Jr., GK
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year
Franny Cerny, DePaul, Fr., F
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
St. John’s
All-BIG EAST First Team^
Alexa Ben, DePaul, So., M
Rachel Corboz, Georgetown, So., M
Rachel Daly, St. John’s, Sr., F*
Sarah Gorden, DePaul, Sr., D
Jacie Jermier, Marquette, R-Sr., D
Serina Kashimoto, Butler, Jr., M
Georgia Kearney-Perry, St. John’s, R-Sr., D*
Sophia Maccagnone, Butler, Sr., M
Diana Poulin, St. John’s, Jr., GK
Morgan Proffitt, Marquette, Jr., M/D
Elise Wyatt, DePaul, Sr., F
Catherine Zimmerman, Providence, Sr., F/M
All-BIG EAST Second Team^
Sarah Adams, Georgetown, Sr., D
Liz Bartels, Marquette, Jr., M
Emily Cubbage, St. John’s, Sr., M
Lucy Edwards, DePaul, So., M
Alex Godinez, DePaul, Sr., GK
Emma Newins, Georgetown, Grad., GK
Taylor Pak, Georgetown, So., M
Darian Powell, Marquette, Jr., F
Brianna Ryce, DePaul, Sr., D
Lauren Sullivan, Creighton, Jr., F
Crystal Thomas, Georgetown, Sr., F
Elizabeth Wenger, Georgetown, So., D
BIG EAST All-Freshman Team
Anna Maria Baldursdottir, St. John’s, Fr., M
Franny Cerny, DePaul, Fr., F*
Samantha Dewey, Xavier, Fr., F*
Casey Etsey, Providence, Fr., F*
Caitlin Farrell, Georgetown, Fr., F*
Madeline Frick, DePaul, Fr, F/M
Eva Gonzalez, Seton Hall, Fr., M
Jamie Kutey, Marquette, Fr., M
Paige Monaghan, Butler, Fr., F
Halle Stelbasky, Butler, Fr., F*
Lucy Whipp, St. John’s, F*
*unanimous selection
^extra player added due to a tie in voting