2017 Great Midwest Women's Soccer All-Conference Team (PDF)

VIENNA, WV – A total of 22 student-athletes were officially announced to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer All-Conference Team on Wednesday evening at the championship banquet before the semifinals.
 
The championship banquet was conducted with four teams remaining in the chase for the Great Midwest tournament trophy. Top seed and tournament host Ohio Valley was joined by No. 2 Ohio Dominican, No. 3 Walsh and No. 5 Ursuline, in attendance.
 
The Fighting Scots, ranked 20th earlier in the week in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, remained at No. 3 in the Midwest Region rankings today as they accepted the regular-season title trophy.
 
The all-conference team is determined by a vote from the league’s coaches.
 
Just like the OVU men, the Fighting Scots’ women celebrated a remarkable regular season with three individual awards including Great Midwest Offensive Player of the Year, Great Midwest Defensive Player of the Year and Great Midwest Coach of the Year.
 
Cedarville led all schools with five different selections on the all-conference team, including four on the second team and senior midfielder Grace Miorelli headlining the first team. The Yellow Jackets were eliminated in the playoffs during the quarterfinals following a shootout.
 
Ohio Dominican had four total selections to match Ohio Valley while Walsh and Trevecca each had three.
 
The Panthers, seeded second in the conference tourney and ranked No. 7 in the Midwest Region rankings, had Lauren Bates, Lindsay Buten and Marissa Wierzbicki all on the first-team ballot. Senior forward Alli Pavlik joined the list as a second-team selection.
 
No. 3 seed Walsh had the league leader in both points (40) and assists (13), Olivia Peters, on the first-team unit with teammate defender Alisha Himes. Freshman midfielder Hannah Bowman also earned second-team honors.
 
Ursuline’s Steph Chlad was tied for fourth in points with 26 to make the second team while Rachel Strahorn made the all-conference team for the second year in a row for the Arrows.
 
Great Midwest Offensive Player of the Year recognition went to Ohio Valley freshman forward Konstantina Giannou after she led the conference with 17 goals scored. Giannou’s emergence is one of the big reasons why Ohio Valley turned a 1-win season in 2016 to an undefeated 2017 campaign at 15-0-2.
 
OVU sophomore Ana Da Costa helped anchor the Fighting Scots in the back line for Great Midwest Defensive Player of the Year accolades. Ohio Valley outscored opponents 54-8 on the year and has pitched 10 shutouts, including a quarterfinal playoff blanking against No. 8 Lake Erie.
 
Sweeping honors for both genders was Great Midwest Coach of the Year Luis Rincon. Rincon accepted hardware earlier in the evening during the men’s banquet before adding another trophy to his collection for his work with the women’s program. He orchestrated a turnaround that had OVU selected last in the preseason coaches poll.
 
Great Midwest Freshman of the Year was awarded to Kentucky Wesleyan rookie Madisyn Hunt, who finished with 11 goals and 4 assists in her first season with the Panthers.
 
The Great Midwest Women’s Soccer Championship semifinals will be streamed live on the Great Midwest Digital Network from Vienna tomorrow on the Fighting Scots’ home field. No. 3 Walsh and No. 2 Ohio Dominican have the early game at 11:30 a.m. ET. Host OVU will battle No. 5 Ursuline in an afternoon contest starting around 2:30 p.m. ET.