Saints' Friday earns two top honors to lead UMAC women's soccer postseason awards
ST. PAUL, Minn.---The College of St. Scholastica captured its first regular season Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) women's soccer title since 2015 this fall and led the postseason conference awards list with eight all-conference selections with Morgan Friday taking two of the top honors announced Wednesday.
Friday led the Saints to a 11-0-1 UMAC record in her first collegiate season which earned her both UMAC Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year recognition. Taylor Brinkman of postseason champion University of Northwestern was tabbed the UMAC Defensive Player of the Year and Allison DeGroot was selected UMAC Coach of the Year by her peers.
The Saints controlled the regular season thanks in large part to the offensive dominance exhibited by Friday in her rookie season. The forward led the UMAC with 16 goals and 34 points in 12 games and recorded an eye-popping 10.17 shots per game. Her overall 7.60 shots per game this season leads all of NCAA Division III. Against UMAC squads, Friday tallied two four-goal games and had two other games in which she also tallied at least two goals. Friday scored a goal and added two assists in a win over North Central University. She is the first player to earn both Offensive Player and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season since the Saints' Kelsey Kehtel in 2011.
While Friday was offensively dominant, the Eagles boasted the second-best defense in the league thanks to sophomore Brinkman. The defender anchored the Eagles' back line that allowed just 10 total goals to UMAC opponents this season and went on to record two shutouts en route to the UMAC postseason title and NCAA tournament berth. Brinkman helped the Eagles record a 0.699 goals against average (GAA) and post seven total shutouts in UMAC play. Brinkman and the Eagles also allowed one goal or fewer in 10 of the team's 12 conference games.
Wisconsin-Superior also enjoyed a strong season under second-year coach DeGroot. The Yellowjackets finished with their best mark in conference since joining the UMAC with a record of 6-5-1. The team's six wins doubled the three wins during DeGroot's first season in 2017. She also led the Yellowjackets to five wins or ties in the remaining six games of the season to qualify for the team's first-ever UMAC tournament. The Yellowjackets advanced to the semifinal on penalty kicks over the University of Minnesota Morris before upsetting top-seeded St. Scholastica to advance to the title game. DeGroot's Yellowjackets recorded three shutouts to end the regular season before picking up two more in the postseason. DeGroot is the first female women's soccer head coach to be named UMAC Coach of the Year since 2009.
St. Scholastica highlighted the three-team all-conference list with a total of eight selections including three First Team nods. Northwestern boasted seven honorees and also had three picked First Team. Wisconsin-Superior was next with six individuals recognized.
There were three players honored who have earned All-UMAC recognition each of their four seasons with Yu Ito of Minnesota Morris picking up First Team honors in each of her four seasons and the 2015 Rookie of the Year award. Rachel Dixon (St. Scholastica) and Gretchen Hamernick-Winters (Northland College) are the other two four-time honorees.
Six players have been named to one of the three All-UMAC lists three times in their careers including Katelyn Carter (Crown College), Linley Norman (Northwestern), Becca Rancour (St. Scholastica), Janelle Rouillard (St. Scholastica), Kaiya Voldberg (Northland) and Hannah Zeis (St. Scholastica).
There were also 11 players honored for the second time in their careers: Lydia Bitter (Martin Luther College), Samantha Colombo (Northwestern), Megan Ellingboe (Minnesota Morris), Sarah Fjeran (Wisconsin-Superior), Kelli Graham (Wisconsin-Superior), Megan Jordan (Northland), Madison Perry (Bethany Lutheran College), Roni Rudolph (St. Scholastica), Sadie Sandersfeld (Bethany Lutheran), Abby Schwinden (North Central University), and Anna Welch (Northwestern).
Martin Luther won the team sportsmanship award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season, including the championship event. Each team also had one representative named to the individual sportsmanship award list.
Offensive Player of the Year* - Morgan Friday, St. Scholastica
Defensive Player of the Year^ - Taylor Brinkman, Northwestern
Rookie of the Year# - Morgan Friday, St. Scholastica
Coach of the Year - Allison DeGroot, Wisconsin-Superior
2018 UMAC Women's Soccer All-Conference First Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Taylor Brinkman^ |
Northwestern |
So. |
D |
Hudson, Wis./Hudson |
| Lexie DeWall |
St. Scholastica |
So. |
D |
Proctor, Minn./Proctor |
| Rachel Dixon |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
MF |
Superior, Wis./Superior |
| Morgan Friday*# |
St. Scholastica |
Fy. |
F |
Duluth, Minn./Shattuck St. Mary's |
| Kelli Graham |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
D |
Middleville, Mich./Thornapple Kellogg |
| Madison Gutekunst |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
GK |
Mound, Minn./Mound Westonka |
| Gretchen Hamernick-Winters |
Northland |
Sr. |
D |
Neenah, Wis./Neenah |
| Yu Ito |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
MF |
Tokyo, Japan/Oshukan Tokyo Secondary |
| Emily Michaelson |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
MF |
Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View |
| Linley Norman |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
F |
Prior Lake, Minn./Prior Lake |
| Kaiya Voldberg |
Northland |
Sr. |
F |
Ashland, Wis./Ashland |
2018 UMAC Women's Soccer All-Conference Second Team
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Bailey Bakken |
Bethany Lutheran |
Fy. |
F |
Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee |
| Jessica Berlinger |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
D |
Mosca, Colo./Sangre de Cristo |
| Lydia Bitter |
Martin Luther |
So. |
MF |
Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji |
| Ellyn Bolland |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
D |
Marshalltown, Iowa/Marshalltown |
| Katelyn Carter |
Crown |
Sr. |
D |
Mesa, Ariz./Mountain View |
| Megan Jordan |
Northland |
Jr. |
GK |
Fort Atkinson, Wis./Fort Atkinson |
| Madison Perry |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
F |
Anoka, Minn./Anoka |
| Becca Rancour |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
F |
Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson |
| Janelle Rouillard |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
MF |
Dayton, Minn./Rogers |
| Annah Schussman |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Fy. |
F |
Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji |
| Hannah Zeis |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
MF |
Ashland, Wis./Ashland |
2018 UMAC Women's Soccer All-Conference Honorable Mention
| Name |
School |
Yr. |
Pos. |
Hometown |
| Samantha Colombo |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
GK |
Two Harbors, Minn./Two Harbors |
| Emily Currie |
Northwestern |
So. |
MF |
Minneapolis, Minn./Homeschool |
| Mackenzie Dahlin |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
D |
Kaukauna, Wis./Kaukauna |
| Megan Ellingboe |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
MF |
Columbia Heights, Minn./Irondale |
| Sarah Fjeran |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Jr. |
F |
Duluth, Minn./Marshall School |
| Anna Hartwig |
North Central |
So. |
MF |
Eagle River, Wis./Northland Pines |
| Melissa Johnson |
St. Scholastica |
Jr. |
D |
Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove |
| Sarah Kjenstad |
Martin Luther |
Jr. |
D |
Aberdeen, S.D./Great Plains Lutheran |
| Brooke Lorentz |
Minnesota Morris |
Jr. |
F |
Sauk Rapids, Minn./Sauk Rapids-Rice |
| Roni Rudolph |
St. Scholastica |
Sr. |
GK |
Duluth, Minn./Duluth East |
| Sadie Sandersfeld |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
D |
Fairmont, Minn./Fairmont |
| Chloe Schmaltz |
Wisconsin-Superior |
Sr. |
MF |
Beaumont, Alberta/Escole Secondaire Beaumont Composite |
| Abby Schwinden |
North Central |
Sr. |
F |
Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North |
| Kelsie Shields |
Northland |
So. |
MF |
Washburn, Wis./Washburn |
| Payton Swoboda |
North Central |
Fy. |
MF |
Chippewa Falls, Wis./McDonell Central |
| Anna Welch |
Northwestern |
So. |
MF |
Lakeville, Minn./Homeschool |
2018 UMAC Women's Soccer Sportsmanship Awards
Team Award - Martin Luther
Bethany Lutheran - Grace Rysdahl, Jr., St. Michael, Minn./St. Michael-Albertville
Crown - Cassidy Hane, Jr., Buffalo, Minn./Buffalo
Martin Luther - Mollie Fischer, So., Burlington, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran
Minnesota Morris - Marie Jakubowski, Sr., Rockford, Minn./Rockford
North Central - Linnea Madsen, Sr., Whitefish, Mont./Polson
Northland - Coriander Dehlin, So., Viroqua, Wis./Viroqua
Northwestern - Maddie Leever, Sr., Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny Christian
St. Scholastica - Melissa Johnson, Jr., Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove
Wisconsin-Superior - Liza Shelquist, Sr., Pine Island, Minn./Pine Island