All-ACC Women’s Soccer Awards announced for 2020 season

GREENSBORO, N.C. – All-ACC Women’s Soccer honors were announced on Friday, as regular-season co-champion Florida State earned three of the major awards to headline the postseason accolades.

Louisville senior midfielder Emina Ekic earned ACC Offensive Player of the Year, while Florida State senior defender Malia Berkely was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. She becomes the first player in ACC history to earn the honor in back-to-back years and just the second player to collect the award twice, joining North Carolina’s Crystal Dunn (2010, ’12).

FSU’s Jaelin Howell was tabbed the ACC Midfielder of the Year and Virginia’s Lia Godfrey is the ACC Freshman of the Year. After leading the Seminoles to a share of the regular-season crown and the No. 1 seed in the ACC Championship, Mark Krikorian was named the ACC Coach of the Year for the fifth time.

ACC season awards, as well as the All-ACC teams, were determined by a vote of the league’s 14 head coaches.

Ekic has turned in a stellar fall season, as she is tied for the individual lead in goals scored against ACC opponents during the regular season with six. She added her seventh goal of the year in quarterfinals of the ACC Championship, tying her for third nationally.

The Louisville, Kentucky, native has also tallied three assists this season to compile 17 points.

Ekic was tabbed ACC Offensive Player of the Week on October 6 after leading the Cardinals to wins against Syracuse and Boston College, as she contributed to all five Louisville scores during the week with three goals with two assists.

Berkely has been a mainstay on the back line for second-ranked Florida State, as the Seminoles have seven shutouts this season and have only allowed goals in two games. FSU’s strong defense has allowed more than one goal in only one match this season, and the ‘Noles have scored first in every game.

Florida State has allowed just 14 shots on goal, which is the fewest of any team in the conference.

Howell has helped direct an explosive FSU offense that leads the nation in scoring offense (3.00) and points per game (7.89). The Seminoles have scored at least two goals in seven of their nine games with 27 total goals this year, just four shy of the national leader despite playing five fewer games.

Hailing from Lone Tree, Colorado, Howell has scored three goals this year and each has been a game-winner. She was recently invited to the U.S. Women’s National Team Training Camp, one of just four collegiate players to earn the invitation.

In her first season with the Cavaliers, Godfrey has made an instant impact playing in all 11 games with 10 starts. She is tied for second nationally and in conference with six assists, headlined by three on game-winning goals.

Additionally, the Fleming Island, Florida, native has tallied the fifth-most points of any ACC player this season with 12.

Krikorian was voted ACC Coach of the Year by his peers for the fifth time and first since 2014. He led Florida State to its first perfect ACC regular season in program history, as the Seminoles were 8-0 against conference opponents. The squad’s previous best was a 9-0-1 mark in 2014.

Florida State leads the conference in points per game (7.89) and goals per game (3.00).

Berkely, Ekic and Howell were named to the first team, while Godfrey claimed a spot on the second team.

Florida State led all schools with 10 student-athletes on the All-ACC Teams, while North Carolina had nine with five first-team selections.

The semifinals for the 2020 ACC women’s soccer championship are set, as top-seeded Florida State will battle fifth-seeded Duke and second-seeded North Carolina will take on third-seeded Virginia.

The Seminoles and Blue Devils will play in the first semifinal at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13, at Sahlen’s Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. The second semifinal features the Tar Heels against the Cavaliers at 8 p.m., a rematch of the 2019 ACC Championship Final.

Friday’s winners will play on Sunday, Nov. 15, at noon for the ACC Championship. Both semifinals will air live on ACC Network, while the final will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

2020 All-ACC Women’s Soccer Team
Offensive Player of the Year: Emina Ekic, Louisville, Sr., M
Defensive Player of the Year: Malia Berkely, Florida State, Sr., D
Midfielder of the Year: Jaelin Howell, Florida State, Jr., M
Freshman of the Year: Lia Godfrey, Virginia, Fr., M
Coach of the Year: Mark Krikorian, Florida State

First Team All-ACC
Sophie Jones, Duke, So., M
Malia Berkely, Florida State, Sr., D
Jaelin Howell, Florida State, Jr., M
Yujie Zhao, Florida State, Jr., M
Emina Ekic, Louisville, Sr., M,
Maycee Bell, North Carolina, So., D
Claudia Dickey, North Carolina, Jr., GK
Emily Fox, North Carolina Sr., D
Rachel Jones, North Carolina, Jr., F
Brianna Pinto, North Carolina, Jr., M
Alexa Spaanstra, Virginia, Jr., F

Second Team All-ACC
Makenna Morris, Clemson, Fr., D
Mariana Speckmaier, Clemson, Sr., F
Emily Madril, Florida State, Jr., D
Clara Robbins, Florida State, Jr., M
Cristina Roque, Florida State, Fr., GK
Taylor Otto, North Carolina, Sr., M
Sammi Fisher, Notre Dame, Sr., M
Amanda West, Pitt, So., F
Lia Godfrey, Virginia, Fr., M
Rebecca Jarrett, Virginia, Jr., F
Diana Ordonez, Virginia, So., F,

Third Team All-ACC
Megan Bornkamp, Clemson, Fr., D
Hal Hershfelt, Clemson, So., M
Courtney Jones, Clemson, Jr., M
Delaney Graham, Duke, Jr., D
Taylor Mitchell, Duke, Sr., D
Jenna Nighswonger, Florida State, So., M
Gabby Kouzelos, Louisville, Sr., GK
Sam Meza, North Carolina, Fr., M
Kiki Van Zanten, Notre Dame, So., F
Emily Gray, Virginia Tech, Jr., M
Hannah Betfort, Wake Forest, Sr., D

All-Freshman Team
Megan Bornkamp, Clemson, D
Makenna Morris, Clemson, D
Jody Brown, Florida State, F
Cristina Roque, Florida State, GK
Kaitlyn Zipay, Florida State, F
Talia Dellaperuta, North Carolina, F
Sam Meza, North Carolina, M
Lia Godfrey, Virginia, M
Samar Guidry, Virginia, D
Tori Powell, Virginia Tech, F
Sophie Faircloth, Wake Forest, D