2015 G-MAC All-Conference Women's Soccer Team

GREENWOOD, Ind. – A total of 25 different student-athletes from eight schools comprised the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer All-Conference Team as announced by the league on Wednesday.
 
The announcement comes prior to the G-MAC Championship semifinals to be played at Davis & Elkins College between the top-seeded Senators, No. 2 Kentucky Wesleyan, No. 3 Ursuline and No. 4 Cedarville.
 
Voting for the G-MAC All-Conference Team was tabulated through the league’s head coaches.
 
Cedarville and Ursuline each led the way with five student-athletes on either the first, second or all-freshman teams. Trevecca Nazarene and Davis & Elkins each placed four on the three respective teams.
 
Eleven selections factored into the All-G-MAC First Team and Second Team while eight more were counted for the all-freshman team.
 
Five different first-year student-athletes received multiple honors, including Katrina Giantsopoulos (Davis & Elkins), Lauren Hill (Davis & Elkins), Breigh Haase (Kentucky Wesleyan), Aline Czaplicki (Ursuline) and Natalie Goetz (Trevecca Nazarene).
 
Individual winners were also announced as offensive and defensive players of the year and freshman of the year were selected along with the coach of the year. Davis & Elkins was able to complete the sweep with three different individuals.

 
G-MAC Offensive Player of the Year/G-MAC Freshman of the Year
Katrina Giantsopoulos
Davis & Elkins
Freshman
Forward
 
Giantsopoulos took the G-MAC by storm in her first season at the collegiate level, shattering a myriad of single-season records as the Senators won the conference regular-season title. She has also staked her claim to being a national leader in multiple categories as a rookie among all NCAA Division II players. 
 
The Canadian import scored 29 goals and had 12 assists for a total of 70 points to lead a high-scoring Senators’ offensive arsenal. She completed the ‘triple crown’ throughout the league to be the G-MAC leader in goals, assists and points.

In the NCAA ranks, Giantsopoulos is first in points per game (4.12) and total points. She is tied for first with North Alabam's Chloe Richards in goals per game (1.71) and again with Richards for total goals. She has also forged her way to second in the country in assists per game (0.71) and a four-way tie for total assists. 

She also tallied six game-winning goals and 48 of her 74 shots were on goal.
 
Giantsopoulos crushed the single-season G-MAC points record by at least 20 heading into Thursday’s semifinal vs. Cedarville. She also eclipsed the single-season goals record by nine and her 12 assists ranks as the second-best total in one year.
 
Giantsopoulos has recorded at least one point in 15 of the 17 game this season and she drilled a season-best five goals against Ohio Valley (Sept. 26). She started her career with a flurry, scoring six goals in her first four games.
 
She has delivered in the clutch as of late, recording game winners in back-to-back games to close out the regular season against Kentucky Wesleyan and Alderson Broaddus, both on the road.
 
Her offensive savvy and playmaking ability has her on a staggering pace to become the G-MAC’s all-time leader in many offensive categories when her illustrious career will be in the archives.

 
G-MAC Defensive Player of the Year
Taylor Morton
Davis & Elkins
Senior
Midfielder
 
Morton fortified a strong defensive unit for the Senators that has pitched a total of seven shutouts -- including a string of five straight -- during D&E’s regular-season title run.
 
One of five seniors on the 2015 roster, Morton also provides the veteran leadership and experience for a unit that permitted just 14 goals all year.
 
Like the G-MAC Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Year Alec Andall (Alderson Broaddus), Morton’s impact also translated to the offensive side of the ball.
 
She chipped in six goals and six assists for a total of 18 points. The G-MAC coaches recognized Morton’s role within head coach Gene Smith’s system and factoring into a phenomenal 14-3-0 overall record.

 
G-MAC Coach of the Year
Gene Smith
Davis & Elkins
 
Similar to the track record of the G-MAC Men’s Coach of the Year Scott Phipps (Alderson Broaddus), Smith was just in his second year at the helm in Elkins before garnering his first conference coach of the year award.
 
After leading Davis & Elkins to a 7-1-2 record in 2014, Smith has turned the Senators, picked just sixth in the preseason coaches poll, into a force in year two with NCAA Championship aspirations.
 
D&E has been in both sets of NCAA Midwest Region rankings and will almost assuredly be in the third that is released later today.
 
Davis & Elkins has been nearly unbeatable at home, putting together an 8-1 record while winning nine straight at one point this year.
 
With 82 goals as a team, the Senators have obliterated the G-MAC single-season record set with 55 by Cedarville in 2013. The 217 total points by his team also hits the reset button on another conference benchmark and 53 assists is a single-season record by at least 10 heading into Thursday’s semifinal vs. Cedarville.