MAC Announces Women's Soccer Postseason Awards
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Mid-American Conference announced its 2015 women's soccer All-MAC teams, as well as its Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year on Thursday, as voted by the league's head coaches.
Kent State’s forward Jenna Hellstrom earned the Offensive Player of the Year honor. The junior from Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, who was named MAC Offensive Player of the Week twice this season, leads the conference in shots and assists. She was also named to the All-MAC First Team for the second consecutive season.
Ball State’s Lorina White was tabbed as Defensive Player of the Year. The Cardinals junior started all 11 conference games and had four goals this season. She was also named to the 2015 All-MAC First Team.
Freshman of the Year was given to Ball State’s Abbie Boswell. The forward from Woodridge, Ill. started all 11 conference games this season and had 10 goals.
Western Michigan’s head coach Nate Norman was named this year's Coach of the Year by his colleagues. Norman led his team to an overall record of 12-3-4 and conference record of 8-1-2 this season.
Along with Hellstrom, White, and Boswell, the All-MAC First Team included three Ball State Cardinals, Chelsy Swackhamer, Leah Mattingly, and Alyssa Heintschel. Buffalo’s Kassidy Kidd and Jackie Hall, Kent State’s Donavan Capehar, Northern Illinois’ Lauren Gierman, and Western Michigan’s Kylie Nylen and Lindsey Lee rounded out the first team.
Leading the second team with four members were the WMU Broncos with Emma Kahn, Gina Maddi, Irene Young, and Lacey Zahn. Buffalo added two more honors with Julia Benati and Celina Carrero. Akron’s Katie George and Annabelle Hegeman, Central Michigan’s Eliza Van de Kerkhove, Kent State’s Paige Culver and Toledo’s Isa Echeverri rounded out the second team, respectively.
Leading the way on the all-Freshman team was Freshman of the Year, Boswell. Bowling Green’s Erica Hubert, Buffalo’s Brianna Shingary, Central Michigan’s Mary Carlson, Lexi Pelafas, Madison Pogarch, and Zoie Reed, Eastern Michigan’s Kristin Nason, Kent State’s Culver, Miami’s Korrie Sauder, NIU’s Taylor Sarver and Ohio’s Stephanie Rowland all earned a spot for their strong rookie campaigns.
The MAC Women's Soccer Championship continues on Friday with the Championship Semifinals. At 11 a.m., the Akron Zips will take on the Miami RedHawks. The second game of the day will begin at 2 p.m. between the WMU Broncos and Buffalo Bulls. The winners of Friday's semifinals will play for the MAC Championship on Sunday, November 9
th at 1:00 p.m.
Championship Page Championship Bracket
2015 Freshman of the year: Abigail Boswell, Ball State
2015 Offensive Player of the Year: Jenna Hellstrom, Kent State
2015 Defensive Players of the Year: Lorina White, Ball State
2015 Coach of the Year: Nate Norman, Western Michigan
2015 All-MAC First Team
Chelsy Swackhamer, Ball State, MF
Kassidy Kidd, Buffalo, MF
Lauren Gierman, Northern Illinois, MF
Kylie Nylen, Western Michigan, MF
Abbie Boswell, Ball State, F
Donavan Capehart, Kent State, F
Jenna Hellstrom, Kent State, F
Leah Mattingly, Ball State, D
Lorina White, Ball State, D
Jackie Hall, Buffalo, D
Lindsey Lee, Western Michigan, D
Alyssa Heintschel, Ball State, GK
2015 All-MAC Second Team
Julia Benati, Buffalo, MF
Eliza Van de Kerkhove, Central Michigan, MF
Isa Echeverri, Toledo, MF
Gina Maddi, Western Michigan, MF
Celina Carrero, Buffalo, F
Emma Kahn, Western Michigan, F
Irene Young, Western Michigan, F
Katie George, Akron, D
Paige Culver, Kent State, D
Lacey Zahn, Western Michigan, D
Annabelle Hegeman, Akron, GK
2015 All-Freshman Team:
Abbie Boswell, Ball State
Erica Hubert, Bowling Green
Brianna Shingary, Buffalo
Mary Carlson, Central Michigan
Lexi Pelafas, Central Michigan
Madison Pogarch, Central Michigan
Zoie Reed, Central Michigan
Kristin Nason, Eastern Michigan
Paige Culver, Kent State
Korrie Sauder, Miami
Taylor Sarver, NIU
Stephanie Rowland, Ohio
