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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference announced the 2014 women’s soccer award winners, and regular season conference champion UCF led the way with four honorees.
 
The Knights’ Tatiana Coleman and UConn’s Rachel Hill shared Offensive Player of the Year honors.  Coleman and Hill also share the number one ranking in the Conference in total points through Nov. 2’s quarterfinals, notching 33 each this season, and they were the only two unanimous selections to the First Team All-Conference team. 
 
Coleman ranks third in The American in goals through Nov. 2 with 12, while tallying nine assists, good for a tie for second in the conference. The senior from Boca Raton, Florida has racked up a conference-best five game-winning goals, and is the only player in The American in the top-five in goals and assists.
 
Hill leads The American in goals with 15 through Nov. 2, as the Rollinsford, New Hampshire native ranks 14^th nationally in total goals entering the weekend’s semifinal action. Four of the 15 tallies were of the game-winning variety, including the lone goal in Sunday’s quarterfinal win over Tulsa that advanced the Huskies to play Coleman and the Knights in one of Friday’s semifinals.
 
Coleman’s accolade will be joined in the UCF trophy case by Carleigh Williams’ Defensive Player of the Year award and Connie Organ’s Goalkeeper of the Year honor. 
 
Williams led a Knights defense to six shutouts in the non-conference season, starting at centerback in every match. In a 4-0 win over Oregon State, she assisted a goal and in a big win over No. 23 Long Beach State, led a defensive effort that shut down the Beach holding them to zero shots on goal.  Williams was also named American Athletic Conference Defender of the Week twice, after road wins against Tulsa and Memphis.
 
Organ’s goals-against average (0.42) and save percentage (0.840) lead the conference and her 12 shutouts in 19 games is double the number posted by anyone else in the league. The goals-against average is good for sixth in the nation entering the weekend. Organ has allowed multiple goals just once in her 19 starts during the 2014 campaign.
 
The Knights are coached by Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak, who in her second season at the helm took home her second straight Coach of the Year Award in The American. The Knights, ranked No. 14 in Soccer America and No. 19 by the NSCAA, did not lose on their home pitch this season, allowing just one goal in ten games at the UCF Soccer Complex.
 
Senior Kylie Davis of Memphis was named Midfielder of the Year and was named to the First Team All-Conference team for the second consecutive year. The senior from L’Ile Bizard, Quebec guided the Tigers to a second-place finish in the regular season with a 6-1-2 mark in The American. Memphis was unbeaten in eight-straight games to close out conference play.
 
Claire Oates of SMU was tabbed as The American’s Rookie of the Year after scoring a team-high six goals for the Mustangs in 2014. The midfielder from Long Beach, California had a day to remember on Sept. 25 in the Mustangs’ victory over Houston, picking up a hat trick in the first 11 minutes of the contest.
 
Tulsa’s Rachel Thun was also named The American’s Rookie of the Year, after her career in Tulsa got off to a good start. The freshman from Oklahoma City, Okla., started in 19 games and was the second leading scorer for the Golden Hurricane with eight goals. She tallied two game-winning goals in her rookie campaign and led the team in assists (seven) and points (23).  

In its inaugural season as a member of the American Athletic Conference, East Carolina claimed the Fair Play Award, given to the team with the fewest accumulated fouls and yellow and red cards throughout conference play.

The American also announced the all-conference first and second teams, as well as the all-rookie team.  Once again, UCF led the conference with eight honorees.  The Knights’ three first team selections (Coleman, Williams, and Organ) were joined by a trio of Huskies, UConn’s Hill, Gabby Charno and Riley Houle, a trio of Memphis Tigers - Davis, Diamond Simpson, and Valerie Sanderson - and USF’s Olivia Chance and Tulsa’s Rachel Thun. 


2014 American Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Award Winners


Offensive Player of the Year
Tatiana Coleman, UCF
Rachel Hill, UConn
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Carleigh Williams, UCF
 
Midfielder of the Year
Kylie Davis, Memphis
 
Goalkeeper of the Year
Connie Organ, UCF
 
Rookie of the Year
Claire Oates, SMU
Rachel Thun, Tulsa
 
Coach of the Year
Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak, UCF
 
Team Fair Play Award
East Carolina
(76 pts. in conference play)
Determined by accumulation of points:
Foul-1pt.; Yellow card-5 pts.
Red card-10 pts.
 
 
First Team All-Conference
*Tatiana Coleman, UCF, F
Carleigh Williams, UCF, D
Connie Organ, UCF, GK
*Rachel Hill, UConn, F
Gabby Charno, UConn, F
Riley Houle, UConn, F
Diamond Simpson, Memphis, D
Valerie Sanderson, Memphis, F
Kylie Davis, Memphis, M
Olivia Chance, USF, M
Rachel Thun, Tulsa, M
 
Second Team All-Conference
Sophie Howard, UCF, D
Ashley Spivey, UCF, M
Jenn Martin, UCF, F/M
Katy Couperus, Cincinnati, M
Kelley Johnson, East Carolina, D
Kendall Frey, East Carolina, F
Erika Lenns, East Carolina, GK
Nugene Nugent, Memphis, F
Jackie Simpson, USF, D
Demi Stokes, USF, M
Claire Oates, SMU, M
Kelly Farrell, Temple, F
Shauni Kerkhoff, Temple, GK
 
All-Rookie Team
Saga Fredriksson, UCF, D
Hannah DeBose, UCF, F
Vanessa Gilles, Cincinnati, D
Julie Gavorski, Cincinnati, F
*Danielle Gottwik, UConn, M
Beanne Moreau, UConn, D
*Sydney Kingston, Memphis, M
*Kayla Cunningham, Temple, F
Ocean Parr, USF, F
Claire Oates, SMU, M
Rachel Thun, Tulsa, M
Tana Dake, Tulsa, M
Christina Holmes, Tulsa, F