The Huskies’ Rachel Hill and UCF’s Carol Rodrigues shared Offensive Player of the Year honors. Two more UConn players earned awards, as Stephanie Ribeiro was selected as Midfielder of the Year, and Emily Armstrong was chosen as Goalkeeper of the Year. Len Tsantiris, the Huskies’ head coach, was voted Coach of the Year. USF senior Jackie Simpson was tabbed Defensive Player of the Year, while Marie Levasseur of Memphis was named Rookie of the Year. Cincinnati earned the Team Fair Play award.
 
Rodrigues led the Knights and ranked second in the conference in goals (11) and points (27). The junior forward also notched five assists this season. Rodrigues ranked first in the league in points per game (1.59) and was one of four conference players with the most game-winning goals (five). She was named The American's Offensive Player of the Week three times, and gained national attention with her bicycle kick gamewinner against Tulsa (10/11) that was featured on SportsCenter Plays of the Weekend, SportsCenter Top 10 and Fox Sports 1's The One, and Fox Sports The Buzzer.
 
Hill earned the Offensive Player of the Year honor and a spot on the All-Conference First Team for the second consecutive year. The junior forward leads UConn’s offense with 10 goals, three assists, and a total of 23 points on the season. With five game-winning goals, Hill was one of four conference players who ranked on first in the category. Hill was named Offensive Player of the Week in Week 1, after she recorded five points with two goals and one assist in the Huskies' regular season opener against Colgate. She was also voted the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year by the league’s coaches.
 
Ribeiro was named Midfielder of the Year, as one of UConn’s top offensive players. The Pawtucket, R.I., native tallied five goals and six assists to total 16 points on the season. The junior made a big impact for the Huskies this season, as all of her goals were gamewinners. She was one of the four players who led the conference in game-winning goals this season. Ribeiro also ranked fourth in the conference in assists, and third in shots (70).
 
Armstrong was voted Goalkeeper of the Year and earned All-Conference First Team honors. She made 62 saves, only allowing 12 goals in 2015. Her overall goals against average (0.71) and .838 save percentage in 2015 are among the best in the conference (minimum 1200 minutes played). In conference play, the junior only allowed four goals to earn a league-best 0.50 goals against average. Armstrong also ranks second in The American in shutouts in conference play, tallying four. She combined for a total of seven shutouts on the season.
 
Tsantiris, in his 35^th season at the helm of UConn’s women’s soccer program, was chosen as Coach of the Year by the league’s head coaches. Tsantiris led the Huskies to their first American Athletic Conference regular-season title, with an 8-1-0 record in The American and a 16-2-0 overall record. Tsantiris also boasts an impressive .726 career winning percentage (541-187-55). UConn has been ranked in the top 25 of the NSCAA poll since the first week of the 2015 season, while the team has also earned top-25 recognition in the Soccer America poll four times, including each of the last three weeks. The team wrapped up the regular season with its best national ranking of the year; No. 11 according to the NSCAA, and No. 14 by Soccer America.
 
Simpson has earned the Defensive Player of the Year accolade, and All-Conference First Team recognition, as she helped the Bulls to 10 shutouts this year. The senior led a Bulls defense that held opponents to just 79 shots on goal, and 172 total shots in 18 regular-season games. USF allowed just 12 goals, for a conference-leading 0.64 goals against average. Simpson recorded 1,594 minutes on the field. She scored two goals this season, including the game-winning goal in the 79th minute against then-No. 20/25 UConn, to give the Bulls a 1-0 win in the conference opener. That same week, Simpson was also named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week.
 
Levasseur was tabbed The American Rookie of the Year and was also selected to the All-Conference Second Team and All-Rookie Team. She totaled 15 points in 2015, Memphis’ second-highest point total, after recording a team-high six goals and three assists in her freshman debut for the Tigers. In addition, Levasseur earned Weekly Honor Roll recognition in Week 7, when she led the Tigers to their first conference win (2-1 vs. Houston) after scoring a pair of goals.
 
Tulsa claimed the 2015 Fair Play Award. The honor is given to the team with the fewest accumulated points throughout conference play; fouls (one point), yellow cards (five points) and red cards (10 points). The Hurricane earned just 90 points, with 80 fouls (80 points), 2 yellow cards (10 points), and zero red cards.
 
The American also announced the all-conference first and second teams, as well as the all-rookie team.  Once again UConn led the conference, with six honorees.  The Huskies’ three first team selections (Hill, Ribeiro, and Armstrong) were joined by a trio of UCF Knights, Rodrigues, Kayla Adamek, Ashley Spivey; East Carolina’s Kendall Frey; Memphis’ Valerie Sanderson; USF’s Simpson and Olivia Chance; and Tulsa’s Rachel Thun.
 
 
 
 
2015 American Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Award Winners

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Carol Rodrigues, UCF, Jr., F
Rachel Hill, UConn, Jr., F
 
 
MIDFIELDER OF THE YEAR
Stephanie Ribeiro, UConn, Jr.
 
 
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jackie Simpson, USF, Sr.
 

GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
Emily Armstrong, UConn, Jr.

 
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Marie Levasseur, Memphis, Fr., F

 
COACH OF THE YEAR
Len Tsantiris, UConn

 
TEAM FAIR PLAY AWARD
Tulsa