2018 Great Midwest Women's Soccer All-Conference Team (PDF)
VIENNA, WV – On Halloween night, the 2018 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer All-Conference Team was announced as the final four semifinalists gathered on the campus of Ohio Valley.
As voted upon by the league’s head coaches, the first, second and honorable mention teams were unveiled with a total of 34 student-athletes receiving special recognition.
All four coaches in attendance helped advance their team through the quarterfinals. Jimmy Walker (Findlay), Dave Renard (Walsh), Kelsey Fenix (Trevecca) and Luis Rincon (Ohio Valley), stood at the podium to address their current seasons and voice a few of their thoughts.
Ohio Valley was also officially presented with the 2018 Great Midwest regular-season championship trophy, making it back-to-back years the Fighting Scots have had bragging rights going into the postseason.
The first and second team each consisted of 11 selections while the honorable mention team featured one student-athlete from all 13 participating institutions.
The conference tournament semifinals are set to get underway on Thursday at Marietta College. Top seed and tourney host Ohio Valley takes on No. 4 Findlay in the early game at noon ET while No. 2 Trevecca and No. 3 Walsh, a pair of 13-win programs, tangle at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Three teams from the Great Midwest also made the new Midwest Region rankings with Ohio Valley leading the way at No. 3, Walsh sitting at No. 6 and Trevecca placed at No. 9.
Walsh led the way with eight total selections on this year’s all-conference team, including five on the first team alone. Ohio Valley had seven as the next highest total.
The Great Midwest Offensive Player of the Year award was presented to Walsh junior forward Brianna Sanborn, who was the league leader in points (30) going into the tournament semifinals.
She also tied for the league lead in goals (12) and added six assists while being named the conference offensive player of the week back on Oct. 22.
The Great Midwest Defensive Player of the Year hardware went to Trevecca standout Leah Hoffman. Hoffman has helped the Trojans pitch a total of 10 shutouts this season and like Sanborn, she was also player of the week on Oct. 22 for her defensive prowess.
Understandably so, defenders tend to not get a lot of attention in the box score, but her impact on the field helped the Trojans to a very impressive season.
TNU also collected more recognition as second-year leader Kelsey Fenix was honored as the Great Midwest Coach of the Year. Fenix has guided the Trojans to the postseason for back-to-back seasons, molding the program into a championship contender in short order.
Trevecca carries a 13-3-2 overall record and 11-1-2 mark in conference play going into the semifinals.
Findlay celebrated the Great Midwest Freshman of the Year award as first-year forward Olivia Frank from Kettering, Ohio, earned top rookie status. Frank helped turn the Oilers around with a differential of six wins from a season ago and had the flair for the dramatic with three game-winning shots.
Frank also chipped in two assists and made her mark as one of the top playmakers in the league to keep an eye on in the future.