MELBOURNE, Fla. - Twenty-four women's soccer student-athletes have earned All-SSC honors for the 2016 season. Conference champions, Saint Leo University, collect eight All-SSC awards including Player of the Year and Coach of the Year. Voting for the awards was conducted among the league's women's soccer coaches.
Arielle Kabangu of Saint Leo University was selected Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year. The Ottawa, Ontario native scored 15 goals and assisted on four others in 15 regular season games for a total of 34 points. Kabangu was also selected Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in 2013
1. She's just the third women's soccer athlete to be named Player of the Year more than once
2 and the second to earn both awards twice
3.
SSC Women's Soccer History: ALL-SSC Teams | Players & Coaches of the Year | Conference Champions | National Champions
Selena Jaimes earns Defensive Player of the Year, marking the first time a Saint Leo Lion has won the award. The Apopka, Florida native led a Saint Leo defense that posted three shutouts and held opponents to .75 goals per game during the second half of the season.
Ged O'Connor of Saint Leo was selected Coach of the Year by his peers. O'Connor guided the Lions to their second SSC Championship and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. O'Connor was previously named Coach of the Year in 2011, the last time Saint Leo won the SSC regular season.
Freshman of the Year belongs to Hannah Christophe of Nova Southeastern University. Christophe's 10 goals and one assist place her third in points per game (1.40) behind Kabangu (2.27) and last year's freshman of the year Kathryn O'Brien (Rollins College) (1.62).
Kabangu and Paxton Sickler (Rollins) become the fifth and sixth SSC women's soccer athletes to receive first team accolades four times
4. Katie Turner (Barry University) earns first team honors for the third consecutive year. Jaimes is selected to the first team after second team accolades in 2014 and 2015. Amanda Traynor (Barry) and Nastasia Asgedom (University of Tampa) move up to the first team after second team selections last season.
Player of the Year: Arielle Kabangu, Saint Leo
Offensive Player of the Year: Arielle Kabangu, Saint Leo
Defensive Player of the Year: Selena Jaimes, Saint Leo
Freshman of the Year: Hannah Christophe, Nova Southeastern
Coach of the Year: Ged O'Connor, Saint Leo
| 2016 Women's Soccer ALL-SSC First Team |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| F |
Arielle Kabangu*~% |
Saint Leo |
Sr. |
Ottawa, Ontario |
| F |
Nichole Poppe |
Nova Southeastern |
Sr. |
Burlington, North Carolina |
| F |
Hannah Christophe |
Nova Southeastern |
Fr. |
Brampton, Ontario |
| M |
Paxton Sickler*~% |
Rollins |
Sr. |
Apopka, Florida |
| M |
Amanda Traynor^ |
Barry |
Jr. |
Glasgow, Scotland |
| M |
Nastasia Asgedom^ |
Tampa |
So. |
Tampa, Florida |
| D |
Selena Jaimes^ |
Saint Leo |
Sr. |
Apopka, Florida |
| D |
Katie Turner*~ |
Barry |
Sr. |
Las Vegas, Nevada |
| D |
Emma Santamaki |
Nova Southeastern |
Fr. |
Naantali, Finland |
| GK |
Kelly Rowswell |
Rollins |
Fr. |
Windermere, Florida |
| At-Large |
Ida Norstrom |
Nova Southeastern |
Fr. |
Oslo, Norway |
|
|
|
|
|
| 2016 Women's Soccer ALL-SSC Second Team |
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
| F |
Keira McCarthy |
Florida Tech |
So. |
Melbourne, Florida |
| F |
Kathryn O'Brien |
Rollins |
So. |
West Springfield, Massachusetts |
| F |
Katie Waddell~ |
Saint Leo |
Jr. |
Nottingham, England |
| M |
Genevieve Gignac^ |
Saint Leo |
Sr. |
Ottawa, Ontario |
| M |
Eva Banton |
Florida Tech |
Sr. |
Melbourne, Florida |
| M |
Molly Sharpe |
Barry |
So. |
Bradford, England |
| M |
Sini Laaksonen |
Nova Southeastern |
Fr. |
Masku, Finland |
| D |
Breia Pierce |
Barry |
Sr. |
Toronto, Ontario |
| D |
Ciera Misner |
Florida Tech |
Sr. |
Malabar, Florida |
| D |
Georgia Robert |
Lynn |
Jr. |
North Yorkshire, England |
| D |
Megan Block |
Rollins |
Sr. |
Jacksonville, Florida |
| GK |
Paula Forero* |
Barry |
Sr. |
Bogota, Colombia |
| At-Large |
Caroline Frykgard* |
Tampa |
Sr. |
Stockholm, Sweden |
* = 2015 First Team
^ = 2015 Second Team
~ = 2014 First Team
= 2014 Second Team
% = 2013 First Team
1Kabangu was also selected Freshman of the Year in 2013
2Lindsay Giblin, Rollins (2006-07); Emelie Karlsson, Barry (2002-03, 2005)
3Emelie Karlsson, Barry (2002-03, 2005)
4Cici Gonzalez, Tampa (2012-15); Malana Winskas, Tampa (2003-06); Emelie Karlsson, Barry (2002-05); Johanna Fischer, Barry (2000-03)