King's Sigurdardottir Headlines 2015 Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Awards
HIGH POINT, N.C. – King midfielder Hulda Sigurdardottir was voted the 2015 Conference Carolinas Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year, while the Belmont Abbey duo of Jillian Lang and Rachel Coutinho were named the Conference's Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively. In addition, Belmont Abbey point man Mike Lynch was tabbed the Coach of the Year, the conference announced today.
Sigurdardottir, a sophomore from Reykjavik, Iceland, finished the season ranked fourth in Conference Carolinas with 30 points on 12 goals and six assists. Her 12 markers and six helpers both ranked fifth in the conference. Sigurdardottir is the first King player to garner Player of the Year honors and the award comes a year after being named the Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year in 2014.
A senior from Matthews, N.C., Lang anchored a defensive unit that ranks fourth nationally in goals-against average after registering12 shutouts and allowing seven goals all season. In addition to her defensive prowess, the defender tallied 13 points on five goals and three assists. She is the second Crusader to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors in three years.
Coutinho, a defender, is Belmont Abbey's first Freshman of the Year since 2008 as the Cornelius, North Carolina product anchored a Crusader backline that surrendered just seven goals all season. The freshman was instrumental in the team's 12 shutouts and run to a 2015 Conference Carolinas Regular Season Championship.
Lynch earns his first Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year award and is Belmont Abbey's first since the 2010 season. Lynch led the Crusaders to a perfect 11-0-0 Conference Carolinas record, the program's sixth all time and the first since 2007. Belmont Abbey leads all major statistical categories as the offense has outscored its opponents 57-7, including 44-3 in conference play.
Joining Sigurdardottir and Lang on the list of first-team midfielders was Belmont Abbey's Laura Shelton. Aaliyah Jackson of Pfeiffer, Belmont Abbey's Meghan Philp, Lindsay Tuten of North Greenville and Nichole Poppe of Mount Olive made up first-team forwards.
On the defensive side, Coutinho was joined by teammate Megan Nanney and Limestone's Ashton Bowles as first-team defenders, while Mariette Martinez of Limestone was the first-team goalie.
Women's All-Conference First-Team
Aaliyah Jackson, Pfeiffer -Forward
Meghan Philp, Belmont Abbey –Forward
Lindsay Tuten, North Greenville -Forward
Nichole Poppe, Mount Olive -Forward
Hulda Sigurdardottir, King -Midfielder
Jillian Lang, Belmont Abbey –Midfielder
Laura Shelton, Belmont Abbey -Midfielder
Megan Nanney, Belmont Abbey -Defender
Rachel Coutinho, Belmont Abbey -Defender
Ashton Bowles, Limestone -Defender
Mariette Martinez, Limestone -Goalkeeper
Women's All-Conference Second-Team
Cierra Skyers, Belmont Abbey -Forward
Kara Garrett, King -Forward
Megan O'Connor, Limestone -Forward
Emily Futral, Barton -Midfielder
Cassidy Coutinho, Belmont Abbey -Midfielder
Emily Ludwig, Limestone -Midfielder
Cheyenne Warrick, Lees-McRae -Defender
Madeline Gadd, Pfeiffer -Defender
Rebecca Coutinho, Belmont Abbey -Defender
Leah Kennington, Limestone -Defender
Megan Bowen, Belmont Abbey -Goalkeeper
Women's All-Conference Third-Team
Isidora Hernandez, Limestone -Forward
Sarah Mahar, Lees-McRae -Forward
Darby Boyd, Converse -Forward
Christine Rocchio, Mount Olive -Midfielder
Natalie Johnson, Converse -Midfielder
Lane Brooks, Barton -Midfielder
Andrea Garcia, Pfeiffer -Midfielder
Millie Shaw, Limestone -Defender
Olivia Grose, Converse -Defender
Lindsay Curtis, King -Defender
Stephanie McCoy, Mount Olive -Goalkeeper
Women's Soccer Regular Season Champions
Belmont Abbey College
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athleticsconference made up of 12 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University, and Southern Wesleyan University. Emmanuel College and Southern Wesleyan University are currently completing the NCAA DII membership process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.