BYU-Hawai‘i dominates 2007 PacWest Women's Soccer Awards
as Haar takes Player
of Year
QUEEN CREEK, AZ - After capturing the 2007 Pacific West Conference Championship, the BYU-Hawai‘i women's soccer team collected four more pieces of hardware as the Seasiders claimed the PacWest Player, Coach, Newcomer and Goalkeeper of the Year award.
Freshman netminder Becky Ploeger (Broomfield, CO/Standley Lake) was chosen the Goalkeeper of the Year, while senior forward Jill Haar (Diamond Bar, CA/Walnut) was picked as the Player of the Year. Freshman forward Sarah Welty (Antelope, CA/Center) shared the PacWest Newcomer of the Year honor with Hawai‘i Hilo rookie midfielder Vanessa Butin (Waipahu, HI/Moanalua).
Seasider head coach Justin Wagar was named the PacWest Women's Soccer Coach of the Year for leading BYU-Hawai‘i to its first league championship in the short two-year life of the program. PacWest rules dictate that the head coach of the championship team is automatically designated the coach of the year.
Wagar led the Seasiders to a 10-2, 30-point PacWest mark to edge
out runner-up Dixie State which finished 9-2-1. His team posted an
overall record of 13-6-1.
In addition to his three top players, Wagar landed seven athletes on the All-PacWest Team. Haar was named to the First Team along with senior defender Sarah Norton (Cedar City, UT/Cedar City) and sophomore midfielder/defender Kristina Nibley (Provo, UT/Timpview). Haar was a repeat First Team member, while both Norton and Nibley were Second Team honorees in 2006.
Haar shared the PacWest scoring title with Dixie State sophomore middie Mikala Wilkes (Cedar Hills, UT/Lone Peak), also an All-PacWest First Team selection, after posting 37 points on 15 goals and seven assists.
She ranked second in the league in points per game (1.85), goals (15), goals per game (0.75), assists (7) and assists per game (0.35). Her four game-winning goal left her tied for first with two other players.
Norton and Nibley were part of a stellar Seasider defense that produced a 0.99 goals against average to rank second just decimal points behind Hawai‘i Hilo.
In addition to earning the Goalkeeper of the Year award, Ploeger was voted to the First Team after leading the PacWest with a 1.06 goals against average during her rookie campaign. She ranked second in the league in save percentage (76.2%) and posted a league-leading five shutouts for a 0.25 per game average. She was required to make just 64 saves in 20 games this year.
Welty also was named All-PacWest, landing a slot on the Second Team with sophomore middie Ashley Hunter (Woods Cross, UT/Woods Cross). Welty shared fifth place in the league in scoring with 16 points on six goals and four assists. Her 0.84 points per game rate ranked sixth in the league, while she tied for fifth in goals scored (6) and sixth in goals per game (0.32).
Hunter scored five times in 2007, including a pair of game-winners. She tied for ninth in the league in goals and tied for 10th in goals per game (0.25).
Freshman middie Natasha Aiono (South Jordan, UT/Bingham) earned an Honorable Mention position for BYU-Hawai‘i.
The 2007 All-PacWest Women's Soccer Team was not entirely voted upon by the head coaches of the conference. Instead, a new formula worked out this year based the number of All-Conference selections upon a team's finish in the standings.
Each coach was then given an opportunity to appoint players from their squad to either the First Team, Second Team or Honorable Mention list.
The coaches did vote for Goalkeeper, Newcomer and Player of the Year, as well as the All-PacWest goalies.
Butin, meanwhile, was one of five Hawai‘i
Hilo players to claim All-PacWest
accolades. In addition to sharing the Newcomer of the
Year award, Butin was named to the Second
Team after finishing tied for third in the league in
assists (5).
Sophomore defender Jacquelyn Larocque (Agoura Hills, CA/Agoura) claimed Second Team honors as well, while freshman defender Ashley Werner (Hilo, HI/Waiakea) and rookie forward Lacey Schreiner (Enumclaw, WA/Enumclaw) were chosen Honorable Mention All-PacWest.
The UHH defense was tops in the PacWest this year, allowing a 0.99 goals against average and 20 goals in 20 games.
The Vulcans had just one First Team selection in sophomore middie Kelly White (Santa Barbara, CA/San Marcos) who was also a First Team choice in 2006.
Dixie State wound up with six All-PacWest players - Wilkes and sophomore defender Jessica Nelson (Orem, UT/Timpanogas) were named to the First Team; freshmen defenders Rebecca D'occhio (Las Vegas, NV/Centennial) and Carly Haycock (Bountiful, UT/Bountiful) were posted on the Second Team; and senior goalkeeper Suzanne Hunt (Lehi, UT/Lehi) and freshman forward Erika Mouritsen (Wellsville, UT/Mountain Crest) claimed Honorable Mention.
Wilkes led the PacWest in points per game (1.95), goals (16) and goals per game (0.84), and shared the league title for points (37) and game-winning goals (4). She also shared third place in the conference in assists (5) and assists per game (0.26).
Mouritsen finished third across the board in the PacWest - points (24), points per game (1.26), goals (11) and goals per game (0.58). Hunt ranked second in the league in goals against average (1.13) and tied for third in the conference with three shutouts. She made 47 saves to tie for sixth in the league.
Grand Canyon junior defender Tessa Chesser (Phoenix, AZ/Shadow Mountain) earned her second All-PacWest honor in 2007. She was a Second Team member last year but jumped to the First Team in 2007. Junior forward Vanessa Young (San Diego, CA/El Sereno) also repeated, earning Second Team honors this year after making the First Team in 2006.
Young ranked 10th in the PacWest in points with 12 on six goals. She tied for sixth in the league in goals per game (0.32) and blasted home a pair of game-winners this year.
Senior defender Minnie Gidda (Kelowna, BC, Canada/Mount Boucherie) was named an Honorable Mention.
Notre Dame de Namur University placed sophomores Sally Olsson (Hillsboro, OR/Century) and Kristen Orlando (San Jose, CA/Piedmont) on the All-PacWest Honorable Mention squad, while sophomore Catherine Ponce (Las Cruces, NM/Las Cruces) earned Second Team accolades.
Ponce finished the season with 15 points on six goals and three assists, ranking eighth in the league in points (0.75) and goals (0.30) per game, fifth in goals and seventh in points.
NDNU's First Team selection came in the form of senior midfielder/forward Erin Morrison (Park City, UT/Judge Memorial Catholic) who led the PacWest in assists (8) and assists per game (0.40). Morrison also posted two game-winning goals, tied for fifth in points (16) and was seventh in points per game (0.80). She wound up collecting her 16 points on four goals and the eight helpers.
Hawai‘i Pacific sophomore middie Jamie Hirai (Captain Cook, HI/Konawaena) was a 2006 Honorable Mention, but in 2007 she jumped to the First Team. Freshman defender Lauren Avenue (Pearl City, HI/Pearl City) was chosen as HPU's Second Team representative, while rookie defender Ashley Dolan (Honolulu, HI/Moanalua) earned Honorable Mention accolades.
Chaminade junior defender Marisa Faye (Mililani, HI/Hawai‘i Prep Academy) claimed First Team honors and junior middie Annie Lanoza (Wahiawa, HI/Leilehua) placed on the Second Team along with freshman goalie Marissa Minor (Captain Cook, HI/High School Info Unavailable). Minor led the PacWest in saves with 141 over 16 games. She stopped a league-high 8.81 per contest.