Nov. 11, 2009
PARK RIDGE, Ill.--The Penn State women's soccer team swept the Big Ten individual honors for the second time in program history on Wednesday. Head coach Erica Walsh was named Coach of the Year, while seniors Katie Schoepfer (Waterford, Conn.) and Alyssa Naher (Seymour, Conn.) won the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year Award, respectively. Newcomer Christine Nairn (Bowie, Md.) was tabbed the Freshman of the Year in voting conducted by the league's coaches.
Naeher won her second Defensive Player of the Year Award, two years after her first. She has posted an outstanding season against the best competition in the NCAA (Penn State has third-hardest schedule in the country), putting up a .832 save percentage while allowing just 16 goals against 79 saves.
Naeher has a 0.84 goals-against average with six solo shutouts and she has started every game. Penn State (12-5-2) has posted 10 shutouts this season with Naeher an important piece to that statistic. She is one of four Nittany Lions to win the award and the first to win it twice.
Schoepfer becomes the second Offensive Player of the Year from Penn State after Tiffany Weimer (2004-05). Schoepfer led the league in the most important scoring category, points (30). The veteran forward finished in the top two in every major category including goals (11) and assists (8), while ranking tied-first with four game-winning goals.
Nairn boosted Penn State's production with steady play in the middle of the field, finishing third on the team in points (23) with seven goals and a league-leading nine assists. She becomes the sixth Nittany Lion, and the first since Ali Krieger in 2003, to earn the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award.
Walsh earns her first Big Ten Coach of the Year award, which was the seventh time a Nittany Lion coach has taken home the honors. Walsh steered the turnaround of the Nittany Lions from a 2-4 start to a remarkable 12-5-2 overall record and 8-1-1 Big Ten mark, capturing the squad's 12th-straight Big Ten Championship. She has continued the tradition and excellence of Penn State women's soccer in her three years in Happy Valley with a 46-17-4 overall record, while compiling a 25-4-1 Big Ten record.
Schoepfer and Nairn were unanimous decisions for First Team All-Big Ten honors. Joining them were Naeher and junior forward Danielle Toney (Northville, Mich.). A credible choice for Offensive Player of the Year, Toney has had a career year in leading the team in goals (12) and tied atop the Big Ten standings with Schoepfer with 30 points and four game-winning goals.
Freshman defender Lexi Marton (Aurora, Ontario) was pegged for Second Team All-Big Ten honors. The 5-11 central defender proved to be an essential force in the backline all season long. Marton garnered All-Freshman Team accolades as a unanimous decision as was Christine Nairn.
Senior midfielder Melissa Hayes (Cave Creek, Ariz.) was Penn State's representative of the Sportsmanship Award presented by the Big Ten. Each team honors one of its own who has shown sportsmanship and ethical behavior as well as being in good academic standing as well as good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
No. 16 Penn State is seeded fourth in the UCLA Bracket of the NCAA Tournament, which starts Friday. The Nittany Lions host Colgate at 7:30 p.m. at Jeffrey Field with the winner advancing to play the winner of the Virginia/St. John's match on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., also at Jeffrey Field.
ALL-BIG TEN HONORS
Offensive Player of the Year: Katie Schoepfer
Defensive Player of the Year: Alyssa Naeher
Freshman of the Year: Christine Nairn
Coach of the Year: Erica Walsh
First Team
Alyssa Naeher, GK
* Katie Schoepfer, F
Danielle Toney, F
* Christine Nairn, M
Second Team
Lexi Marton, D
Freshman Team
* Christine Nairn, M
* Lexi Marton, D
Sportsmanship Award
Melissa Hayes, M
* -- Unanimous selection
For complete coverage of Penn State women's soccer, visit http://www.GoPSUsports.com/sports/w-soccer.
Follow Penn State women's soccer on Twitter: @PSUWomensSoccer
--NITTANY LIONS--