Seven Blue Demons Earn All-BIG EAST Postseason Honors
11/4/2014 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S SOCCER
NEW YORK - Capping off the first BIG EAST Conference regular-season title in program history, No. 13/7 DePaul was honored on Tuesday with seven players being named to all-conference teams.
Leading the way was freshman forward Alexa Ben who was voted BIG EAST Rookie of the Year by the league's coaches. Ben was also chosen for All-BIG EAST Second Team and for the league's All-Rookie Team.
Junior team captain Elise Wyatt and senior captain Rachel Pitman were voted onto the All-BIG EAST First Team. Wyatt ranks third in the league in goals (10) and Pitman has helped anchor the Blue Demon back line whose goals-against average (0.95) ranks second in the conference.
Joining Ben on the second team were senior defender Sarah Gorden and sophomore forward Abby Reed, who is third in the nation in game-winning goals.
Ben finished her first regular season of collegiate soccer ranked second in the BIG EAST with 28 points, including 16 in conference play, while her six goals against league foes also listed runner-up. The freshman recorded at least one point in 14 of 18 games this season and enters the postseason on a five-game scoring streak.
She was selected BIG EAST Rookie of the Week five times this season, including the final three weeks of the year. Ben is DePaul's first BIG EAST Rookie of the Year.
Reed led the BIG EAST in goals and game-winning goals while Gorden was a leader on the Blue Demon back line all season and is the current BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week.
Ben and fellow freshmen Elizabeth Endy (defender) and Lucy Edwards (midfielder) were selected for the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team.
DePaul collected a league-best eight All-BIG EAST certificates. These are the most players to receive BIG EAST postseason recognition in program history. In addition, coach Erin Chastain, associate head coach Michele O'Brien and assistant coach Sarah Stanczyk were chosen BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year by the league's coaches.
The Chastain-led Blue Demons are having their best season in program history and enter the postseason as one of two unbeaten (15-0-3) teams in all of Division I with the nation's third-best winning percentage (.917). DePaul has recorded the most goals, assists and points since 2004.
Picked to finish fourth in the preseason poll, DePaul claimed its first BIG EAST regular-season title in program history last Friday and enters the league tournament as the No. 1 seed for the first time. This is the Blue Demons' first BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year recognition.
Georgetown senior Daphne Corboz was recognized by the league's head coaches as both the BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year and the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player to collect both honors in the same season.
Georgia Kearney-Perry of St. John's was tabbed BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and teammate Diana Poulin was voted BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year.
Corboz, a unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team pick, enters the postseason ranked third nationally in assists (17) and 10th among all Division I players with 37 points and a 2.06 points per game average. She becomes the sixth player to win multiple Offensive Player of the Year certificates (also in 2012) and fourth to be named Midfielder of the Year multiple times (2013). The Hermann Trophy Watch List member and two-time NSCAA All-American is Georgetown's career leader in points and goals and ranks second in assists.
Picked Preseason Defensive Player of the Year as well, Kearney-Perry led the Red Storm back line which limited conference foes to just over four shots on goal per game while finishing BIG EAST play tied for the most shutouts with five. The Red Storm allowed a league-best six goals this season, surrendering more than one goal just once in a 3-0 loss to DePaul.
Poulin enters the postseason with a league-best eight shutouts to her credit, including a conference-high five in BIG EAST play. Against league foes, the sophomore boasts the best goals-against average (0.65) and second-best save percentage (.845). She is the Red Storm's first BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year.
Georgetown and St. John's both had seven all-league nods to their credit. Along with Corboz, the Hoyas had junior midfielder Marina Paul named to the first team, while senior goalkeeper Emma Newins, junior forward Sarah Adams, and freshman midfielder Rachel Corboz collected second-team honors. The younger Corboz was a unanimous All-Rookie pick as well and was joined on that team by defender Liz Wenger.
Kearney-Perry, a unanimous pick, and Poulin earned First Team All-BIG EAST citations along with teammate Rachel Daly, a junior forward. Daly, who led the nation in goals a season ago, was a marked player this year but still managed to tally 18 points, including eight goals. Junior midfielder Emily Cubbage was the lone second-team honoree for the Red Storm, while a trio of newcomers - Shea Connors, Allie Moar and Jesse Schaefer - were named to the All-Rookie Team.
Marquette had a pair of players named to both the All-BIG EAST First and Second Teams. Sophomore forward Liz Bartels, with six assists, and senior midfielder Mary Luba, with 16 points (6G, 4A) were voted to the First Team, while defenders Jacie Jermier, a junior, and sophomore Morgan Proffitt, collected Second-Team honors. The Golden Eagles totaled seven shutouts this season, third-most among conference teams, while outshooting their opposition 13 times.
Providence's Catherine Zimmerman, a junior forward, was a unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection and is one of three Friars to garner recognition. Zimmerman's 27 points lists third in the league, while her 11 goals are second. Newcomers Christina Klaum and Rachel Morrier, both midfielders, were voted to the All-Rookie Team.
Butler also had a trio of honorees, including a pair of All-BIG EAST First Team members in sophomore defender Serina Kashimoto and junior midfielder Sophia Maccagnone. Maccagnone's 10 assists rank second in the BIG EAST. Senior forward Elise Kotsakis was named to the Second Team after totaling 21 points on nine goals and three assists.
Villanova junior defender Emily Damstrom and Creighton sophomore forward Lauren Sullivan round out the honorees as All-BIG EAST Second Team selections. Nova's seven shutouts rank third in the BIG EAST, while Sullivan totaled seven goals, including three game-winners.
BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year
Daphne Corboz, Georgetown, Sr., M
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year
Daphne Corboz, Georgetown, Sr., M
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Georgia Kearney-Perry, St. John's, Sr., D
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year
Diana Poulin, St. John's, So., GK
BIG EAST Rookie of the Year
Alexa Ben, DePaul, Fr., M/F
BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year
Erin Chastain and DePaul*
All-BIG EAST First Team
Liz Bartels, Marquette, So., F
Daphne Corboz, Georgetown, Sr., M*
Rachel Daly, St. John's, Jr., F
Serina Kashimoto, Butler, So., D
Georgia Kearney-Perry, St. John's, Sr., D*
Mary Luba, Marquette, Sr., M
Sophia Maccagnone, Butler, Jr., M
Marina Paul, Georgetown, Jr., M
Rachel Pitman, DePaul, Sr., D
Diana Poulin, St. John's, So., GK
Elise Wyatt, DePaul, Jr., F
Catherine Zimmerman, Providence, Jr., F*
*Unanimous selection
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Sarah Adams, Georgetown, Jr., F
Alexa Ben, DePaul, Fr., M/F
Rachel Corboz, Georgetown, Fr., M
Emily Cubbage, St. John's, Jr., M,
Emily Damstrom, Villanova, Jr., D
Sarah Gorden, DePaul, Sr., D
Jacie Jermier, Marquette, Jr., D
Elise Kotsakis, Butler, Sr., F
Emma Newins, Georgetown, Sr., GK
Morgan Proffitt, Marquette, So., D
Abby Reed, DePaul, So., F
Lauren Sullivan, So., Creighton, F
BIG EAST All-Rookie Team
Alexa Ben, DePaul, M/F*
Shea Connors, St. John's, F
Rachel Corboz, Georgetown, M*
Lucy Edwards, DePaul, M
Elizabeth Endy, DePaul, D
Christina Klaum, Providence, M
Allie Moar, St. John's, M
Rachel Morrier, Providence, M
Jesse Schaefer, St. John's, D
Liz Wenger, Georgetown, D
