CAA Announces Women's Soccer Accolades
RICHMOND, Va. (October 25, 2018) - College of Charleston senior
Laura Ortega was named the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Player of the Year, headlining the conference's postseason awards. For the second consecutive season, Hofstra's
Madeline Anderson was selected the CAA Defensive Player of the Year, while teammate
Miri Taylor was selected the CAA Rookie of the Year. After leading James Madison to the CAA regular season title, head coach
Josh Walters was tabbed the CAA Coach of the Year by his peers.
Ortega, an All-CAA First Team selection, collected 20 points in the regular season, third in the CAA. The senior's eight goals were second in the conference. Ortega's output made her Charleston's all-time leader in both career goals (25) and points (70). The senior is the first Charleston player recognized as the CAA Women's Soccer Player of the Year.
Anderson earned defensive accolades for the second straight season, becoming the first player in CAA history to do so since Hofstra's
Sue Weber did so in 2006-07. The senior led a backline that allowed just 20 goals in 18 matches, contributing three points from her defensive position. For the second straight year, Anderson also was an All-CAA First Team selection.
Taylor became Hofstra's first rookie of the year pick since 2012, and since making her debut on Sept. 9, Taylor has contributed 0.75 points per match with three goals and two assists. The freshman earned CAA rookie of the week accolades on Oct. 1 after recording goals in consecutive matches.
In his first year guiding James Madison, Walters helped the Dukes to the program's first CAA regular-season title since 2013. James Madison enters the CAA Women's Soccer Championship with a 10-7-1 overall mark and went 7-1-1 in conference play. Five Dukes earned all-CAA accolades, including first team picks in
Haley Crawford (8 goals, 6 assists) - who tied for the CAA lead in points with 22 - and
Ginger Deel (7g, 5a), second team selections in defender
Sarah Gordon and goalkeeper
Hannah McShea (1.16 GAA, 7 sho), and defender
Hannah Coulling on the third team. Gordon and Coulling also earned all-rookie team honors.
Northeastern, which earned the No. 2 seed for the CAA Championship, saw seven players honored on the all-CAA teams, including three All-CAA First Team selections in midfielder
Valentina Soares Gache (1g, 3a), defender
Julianne Ross (1g) and goalkeeper
Nathalie Nidetch (0.82 gaa, 7 sho).
Hofstra, the reigning CAA champion, also had six players selected to all-CAA teams, including Anderson and Taylor. After tying for the CAA lead in scoring,
Sabrina Bryan (9g, 4a) was a first team pick along with
Lucy Porter (8g, 3a) and Anderson.
Drexel defender
Kiera Hennessy (4g) and William & Mary's
Sarah Segan (6g, 4a) rounded out the first team.
The 2018 CAA Women's Soccer Championship kicks off with first round matches on Friday, Oct. 26, with two matches at 1 p.m. ET. In Harrisonburg, Va., No. 4-seed Charleston will take on No. 5 Drexel, with the winner advancing to play James Madison on Sunday, Oct. 28. Third-seeded Hofstra will meet No. 6 Delaware in Boston, Mass., with the victor moving on to face No. 2 Northeastern on Sunday. Both semifinal matches will also kick off at 1 p.m. ET.
The semifinal winners will meet on Saturday, Nov. 3, with the highest remaining seed hosting the match. All five matches will be available on CAA.tv, which is available on computers and on mobile devices as well as Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire and other OTT platforms.
| 2018 All-CAA Women's Soccer Honors |
| First Team |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
School |
Pos. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
| Laura Ortega |
Charleston |
F |
Sr. |
Aranjuez, Spain |
| Haley Crawford |
James Madison |
F |
Jr. |
Port Matilda, Pa. |
| Sarah Segan |
William & Mary |
F |
r-Jr. |
Fogelsville, Pa. |
| Sabrina Bryan |
Hofstra |
F |
So. |
Cecil, Pa. |
| Lucy Porter |
Hofstra |
M |
So. |
Birmingham, England |
| Valentina Soares Gache |
Northeastern |
M |
Sr. |
Trabuco Canyon, Calif. |
| Ginger Deel |
James Madison |
M |
So. |
Coronado, Calif. |
| Madeline Anderson |
Hofstra |
D |
Sr. |
Westbury, N.Y. |
| Kiera Hennessy |
Drexel |
D |
r-Sr. |
Danbury, Conn. |
| Julianne Ross |
Northeastern |
D |
So. |
Cumberland, R.I. |
| Nathalie Nidetch |
Northeastern |
GK |
Sr. |
Hewlett, N.Y. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Second Team |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
School |
Pos. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
| Riley Dixon |
Delaware |
F |
So. |
San Diego, Calif. |
| Shaelyn McCarty |
Drexel |
F |
Sr. |
Doylestown, Pa. |
| Jenn Buoncore |
Hofstra |
F |
Sr. |
Kings Park, N.Y. |
| Hannah Rosenblatt |
Northeastern |
M |
Sr. |
Lincoln, Mass. |
| Marissa Vincent |
UNCW |
M |
So. |
Columbia, Md. |
| Hannah Doherty |
Elon |
M |
r-So. |
Crumlin, Northern Ireland |
| Kelly Gerdes |
Hofstra |
D |
r-Sr. |
Wantagh, N.Y. |
| Rachel Kim |
Charleston |
D |
Jr. |
Ellicott City, Md. |
| Sarah Gordon |
James Madison |
D |
Fr. |
Manasquan, N.J. |
| Mikenna McManus |
Northeastern |
D |
So. |
Lake Forest, Calif. |
| Hannah McShea |
James Madison |
GK |
Jr. |
Leesburg, Va. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Third Team |
|
|
|
|
| Name |
School |
Pos. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
| Lauren Currey |
Drexel |
F |
Fr. |
Harrisburg, Pa. |
| Dominique Martinez |
UNCW |
F |
Jr. |
Havelock, N.C. |
| Chelsea Domond |
Northeastern |
F |
So. |
Stamford, Conn. |
| Justine Stoner |
Towson |
M |
Jr. |
Mount Laurel, N.J. |
| Molly McGarry |
UNCW |
M |
So. |
Charlotte, N.C. |
| Miri Taylor |
Hofstra |
M |
Fr. |
Gillingham, England |
| Raymarra Barreto |
Charleston |
M |
Sr. |
Mt. Pleasant, S.C. |
| Olivia Schuck |
Delaware |
D |
So. |
Medford Lakes, N.J. |
| Hannah Coulling |
James Madison |
D |
r-Fr. |
Salem, Va. |
| Lauren Kelly |
William & Mary |
D |
r-So. |
Ashburn, Va. |
| Libby Baeza |
Drexel |
GK |
Jr. |
Irvine, Calif. |
|
|
|
|
|
| 2018 CAA Player of the Year: Laura Ortega, Charleston |
| 2018 CAA Defender of the Year: Madeline Anderson, Hofstra |
| 2018 CAA Rookie of the Year: Miri Taylor, Hofstra |
| 2018 CAA Coach of the Year: Josh Walters, James Madison |
2018 CAA Women's Soccer All-Rookie Team |
| Name |
School |
Pos. |
Cl. |
Hometown |
| Lauren Currey |
Drexel |
F |
Fr. |
Harrisburg, Pa. |
| Toni Starova |
Delaware |
F |
Fr. |
Prague, Czech Republic |
| Jenna Blank |
Towson |
M |
Fr. |
Holbrook, N.Y. |
| Miri Taylor |
Hofstra |
M |
Fr. |
Gillingham, England |
| Grace Santos |
William & Mary |
M |
Fr. |
Scottsville, Va. |
| Sarah Gordon |
James Madison |
M |
Fr. |
Manasquan, N.J. |
| Hannah Coulling |
James Madison |
D |
r-Fr. |
Salem, Va. |
| Grace Moore |
Northeastern |
D |
Fr. |
Rocky Hill, Conn. |
| Hannah Farmer |
Charleston |
D |
Fr. |
Savannah, Ga. |
| Kate McKay |
Elon |
D |
Fr. |
Scottsdale, Ariz. |