Championship Central
Interview with UCF Coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak
Interview with UCF's Lena Petermann
Interview with UCF's Marissa Diggs
The top two women’s soccer regular-season finishers were presented with further awards Thursday evening, as the 2013 American Athletic Conference Players of the Year and All-Conference teams were announced at the postseason awards banquet. Regular-season runner-up Louisville saw seniors Christine Exeter and Charlyn Corral earn Offensive Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year, respectively. Regular-season champion UCF garnered three individual awards, with senior Marissa Diggs winning Defensive Player of the Year and freshman Lena Petermann taking Rookie of the Year, while head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak was honored as Coach of the Year.
The final individual award went to Houston senior Cami Koski, who was named Goalkeeper of the Year. Houston also was honored with the Team Fair Play Award, the only team honor presented at the banquet.
Louisville’s
Christine Exeter earned Offensive Player of the Year honors after leading the Cardinals to an 8-1-0 American record and a 12-5-1 overall slate. She tied for first on her team with 11 assists on the season to go along with her nine goals to total 29 points. In conference matches, Exeter tied for the league lead in assists with eight through nine games for a 0.89 assists per game average. With the distinction, she earns her third major conference award after previously being recognized as the 2010 Big East Rookie of the Year and 2011 Big East Offensive Player of the Year.
Fellow Cardinal
Charlyn Corral was named Midfielder of the Year after earning the same honor in the former Big East last season. In 2013, Corral was the overall conference scoring leader, totaling 13 goals and 11 assists for 37 points. She also led Louisville in every offensive category. With 103 shots, Corral led The American by an 18-shot margin, and validated high expectations after being one of two unanimous selections to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
Marissa Diggs led The American’s top backline this season in the UCF Knights’ defense. On the year, UCF allowed the fewest goals in the league (11), averaging less than one per game, as well as securing the best conference record at 8-0-1. Heading into Friday’s semifinals, the Knights are in the midst of a school record 16-game unbeaten streak, eight of which have been shutouts. This is the second-straight Defensive Player of the Year award for Diggs, who earned the same honor in Conference USA last season. She was also honored previously this fall as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
UCF freshman
Lena Petermann earned Rookie of the Year honors on the heels of eight goals and four assists for 20 points on the season. That total is currently tied for second on the Knights’ lineup, and her four goals in conference play sits tied for ninth on the overall conference list. Petermann, a native of Germany, earned a conference-best four Rookie of the Week awards this season, the most individual weekly awards for any American player.
In only her first season at the helm for the Knights, head coach
Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak led UCF to the inaugural American Athletic Conference regular season title, with an 8-0-1 conference record and a 16-2-2 overall record heading into the semis. As a team, Sahaydak’s squad led The American in goals allowed (11), goals against average (0.54) and shutouts (10). The Knights are the only team to be recognized in the NSCAA and Soccer America polls every week this season, and will look to claim the program’s second consecutive conference tournament championship this coming weekend.
Houston’s
Cami Koski garnered Goalkeeper of the Year distinction after playing in only 11 games for the Cougars in 2013. Through those games, however, Koski made 90 saves with an .818 save percentage and 1.98 goals against average. On Sept. 9, she set a Houston record for saves in a game after turning away 17 shots in a 1-1 draw with San Diego State. In conference matches, Koski led The American with 7.14 saves per game, and as of Nov. 1, her save percentage ranks sixth overall in Division I. Her 18 career shutouts also tops the Cougar record books.
Houston earned the Team Fair Play Award after totaling just 71 points (56 fouls, three yellow cards and zero red cards) during conference play. The Fair Play Award is given to the team that accumulates the fewest penalty points: foul (one point), yellow card (five points) and red card (10 points).
2013 American Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Major Award Winners
Offensive Player of the Year
Christine Exeter, Louisville, Sr., F
Midfielder of the Year
*Charlyn Corral, Louisville, Sr., M
Defensive Player of the Year
Marissa Diggs, UCF, Sr., D
Goalkeeper of the Year
Cami Koski, Houston, Sr., GK
Rookie of the Year
Lena Petermann, UCF, Fr., F
Coach of the Year
Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak, UCF
Team Fair Play Award
University of Houston
2013 All-Conference Teams
First Team
Tatiana Coleman, UCF, Jr., F
Marissa Diggs, UCF, Sr., D
Lena Petermann, UCF, Fr., F
Rachel Hill, UConn, Fr., F
Stephanie Ribeiro, UConn, So., F
Cami Koski, Houston, Sr., GK
*Charlyn Corral, Louisville, Sr., M
Christine Exeter, Louisville, Sr., F
Kylie Davis, Memphis, Jr., M/F
Christabel Oduro, Memphis, Sr., F
Jonelle Filigno, Rutgers, R-Sr., F
Second Team^
Emily Elsbrock, Cincinnati, Sr., F
Jennifer Martin, UCF, Jr., M
Devin Prendergast, UConn, Sr., D
Erin Yenney, Louisville, Jr., M
Valerie Sanderson, Memphis, Fr., F
Diamond Simpson, Memphis, So., D
Stef Scholz, Rutgers, Jr., F
Madison Tiernan, Rutgers, Fr., M/F
Christiane Endler, USF, So., GK
Cristin Granados, USF, Jr., M
Demi Stokes, USF, Jr., D
Rikki Clarke, SMU, Jr., M
Shelby Redman, SMU, R-Jr., F
All-Rookie Team^
Katy Couperus, Cincinnati, Fr., F
Natalie Smith, Cincinnati, R-Fr., GK
Kayla Adamek, UCF, Fr., F
Caroline Bado, UCF, Fr., D
Lena Petermann, UCF, Fr., F
Emily Armstrong, UConn, R-Fr., GK
Rachel Hill, UConn, Fr., F
Valerie Sanderson, Memphis, Fr., F
Tori Prager, Rutgers, Fr., M
Madison Tiernan, Rutgers, Fr., M/F
Leticia Skeete, USF, Fr., D
Taylor Barg, SMU, Fr., M
* indicates a unanimous selection
^due to a tie in voting, extra members were added