Center Valley, Pa.—The 2009 Women’s Soccer All-Patriot League Team and major awards were announced Tuesday morning by the Patriot League office. Seventeen of the 22 spots on the All-Patriot League Team are occupied by student-athletes from the four teams that have qualified for the Patriot League Tournament, including a League-high five from Bucknell. American, Colgate and Navy each had four honorees. Also represented were Lehigh with three selections and Holy Cross with two.

The four tournament teams were also represented in voting for the Patriot League’s major awards. Bucknell’s Christa Matlack was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year. American’s Friederike Engel was awarded Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year. Beth Reed of Navy took home Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year honors. Colgate goalkeeper Ashley Walsh was tabbed Rookie of the Year. American’s Dave Bucciero was named Patriot League Coach of the Year.

Matlack leads the Patriot League with 1.25 points per game. She scored a League-best 13 points and six goals in Patriot League contests. It is the third consecutive year and the fourth time overall that a Bucknell player has been named Offensive Player of the Year. Matlack was also named a First-Team All-Patriot League selection.

Engel is the second player from American to be named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, joining 2007 winner Annette Scott. Engel anchored a defensive unit that allowed just 0.89 goals per game. Engel and the Eagles held their Patriot League foes to just five goals. Engel also produced a goal and an assist while playing 18 regular season games. She also received First-Team All-Patriot League recognition.

In her first year as a full-time starter, Reed received First-Team All-Patriot League honors and was named Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year. It is the third time that a Navy goalkeeper has received the award since it was first presented in 2004. She leads the Patriot League with a 0.67 goals-against-average and nine shutouts, including four shutouts in Patriot League play.

Walsh was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year after assuming starting goalkeeping duties for the top-seeded Raiders as a freshman. In 18 games, she has made a League-best 122 saves. She leads the Patriot League with 41 saves in Patriot League contests. She owns a 0.84 goals-against-average and six shutouts, including three shutouts in Patriot League games. Walsh is the fifth Colgate Raider to receive Rookie of the Year honors.

Bucciero became the second coach from American to receive Patriot League Coach of the Year accolades. In his second year with the Eagles, Bucciero guided American to the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. A year after finishing 5-10-4 and placing fifth in the Patriot League, the Eagles closed the regular season with a 10-9-0 mark, including a 5-2-0 record in Patriot League games.

Matlack is the lone First-Team All-Patriot League selection from Bucknell, but four of her teammates were placed on the Second Team. Caitlin Holtz, a 2008 First-Team honoree, was recognized for the second time her career. The junior midfielder has nine points, including a team-best five assists. Also honored for the second time in her career was senior goalkeeper Kathryn Sutton. A 2007 First-Team selection, Sutton earned All-League status after producing five wins and a 1.13 goals-against-average in Patriot League play. For the season, she has eight wins with three shutouts and 67 saves. Junior defender Amanda Citron, who was named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 26, was named to the All-Patriot League Team for the first time in her career. She anchored a defense that limited its foes to 1.14 goals per game in Patriot League play. Another first-time honoree is midfielder Kellian Doherty. The junior finished second on the team with 10 points (four goals, two assists). She tallied two game-winners for the Bison.

Colgate, which finished the regular season as the top team in the Patriot League, has four All-Patriot League selections, including two First-Team honorees. Jillian Arnault was named a First-Team All-Patriot League selection for the third straight season. The senior midfielder has three goals, two of which are game-winners. She is joined on the First Team by junior defender Calista Victor, a 2008 Second-Team selection. Victor, the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 19, guided a Colgate defense that allowed just nine goals in Patriot League play and allowed just 0.89 goals per game overall. Her defensive mate Liz Polido joins Victor on the All-Patriot League Team. Polido was placed on the Second Team for the second consecutive season. Also on the Second Team is freshman Jillian Kinter. The forward led the team with 11 points (four goals, three assists).

Joining Engel on the All-Patriot League team are three of her teammates. Like Engel, American senior Kelsey Brasher was named a First-Team All-Patriot League selection. Brasher led the Eagles and ranked fifth in the Patriot League with 16 points, including eight in League play. It is the second time she has been named a First-Team All-Patriot League selection. Named to the Second Team were Brooke Sheppard and Erin Koch, both first-time honorees. Sheppard, a junior midfielder, led the Patriot League with four assists in League play. For the year she has one goal and six assists. Koch, a senior defender, helped the American defense limit its foes to 0.89 goals per game, including just five goals in League contests. She also has four assists, three of which came in Patriot League play.

Navy is in the Patriot League Tournament for the fourth straight season, and as a result, the Mids were awarded four All-Patriot League members. In addition to Reed, senior defender Shelly Moeller was named a First-Team All-Patriot League selection. Moeller has been named Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week a record 11 times, including three times this season. She led a Navy defensive unit that allowed just 16 goals all season and seven all season. It is the fourth time Moeller has been named to the All-Patriot League Team and the third time she has received First-Team honors. Joining Reed and Moeller on the All-Patriot League Team are Second-Team selections Carissa Youker and Christine Calderon. Youker, a junior, was named to the Second Team a year ago. She has a League-best 23 points, including nine goals and five assists. Calderon, also a junior, has 15 points (six goals, three assists).

Lehigh, which finished fifth in the Patriot League standings, had three team members named to the All-Patriot League Team, including First-Team selections Liz Carlos and Hailey Coonrad. Carlos was named to the squad after leading the Mountain Hawks with 17 points (six goals, five assists). Coonrad, a Second-Team selection a year ago, was placed on the First-Team after anchoring a Lehigh defense that finished with a League-best 0.68 goals-against-average. Lehigh senior forward Natalie Hojnacki was placed on the Second Team. Hojnacki finished second on the team with 11 points (four goals, three assists), including two game-winning goals.

Rounding out the All-Patriot League selections are two First-Team honorees from Holy Cross. Senior Shelby Stand was recognized with All-League honors for the first time in her career after leading the Patriot League with 10 goals, including three game-winners. She scored four goals in Patriot League contests. Joining Stand on the All-League team is Katherine Donnelly. The sophomore midfielder had one goal and a League-best eight assists, while also helping steady the Holy Cross defense.

The Patriot League women’s soccer tournament will begin Friday at Colgate’s Van Doren Field in Hamilton, N.Y. Top-seeded Colgate will meet fourth-seeded Navy at 5 p.m. At 7:30 p.m., second-seeded American and third-seeded Bucknell will square off. The championship will be held Sunday at 1 p.m.

Kelsey Brasher, American, Sr., F

Christa Matlack, Bucknell, Jr., F

Shelby Stand, Holy Cross, Sr., F

Jillian Arnault, Colgate, Sr., M

Katherine Donnelly, Holy Cross, So., M

Liz Carlos, Lehigh, Sr., M

Friederike Engel, American, Jr., D

Calista Victor, Colgate, Jr., D

Hailey Coonrad, Lehigh, Sr., D

Shelly Moeller, Navy, Sr., D

Beth Reed, Navy, Sr., GK

Second-Team All-Patriot League

Jillian Kinter, Colgate, Fr., F

Natalie Hojnacki, Lehigh Sr., F

Carissa Youker, Navy, Jr., F

Christine Calderon, Navy, Jr., F

Brooke Sheppard, American, Jr., M

Caitlin Holtz, Bucknell, Jr., M

Kellian Doherty, Bucknell, Jr., M

Erin Koch, American, Sr., D

Amanda Citron, Bucknell, Jr., D

Liz Polido, Colgate, Sr., D

Kathryn Sutton, Bucknell, Sr., GK

Offensive Player of the Year: Christa Matlack, Bucknell, Jr., F

Defensive Player of the Year: Friederike Engel, American, Jr., D

Goalkeeper of the Year: Beth Reed, Navy, Sr., GK

Rookie of the Year: Ashley Walsh, Colgate, Fr., GK

Coach of the Year: David Bucciero, American