RIPON, Wis. – Carroll placed a league-high six players on the 2011 Midwest Conference Women’s Soccer All-Conference team after winning a share of the MWC Championship and winning the MWC Tournament for the fourth time in the last five years. St. Norbert forward Katie Vanden Avond and Lawrence forward Mallory Koula were named Co-Offensive Players of the Year while St. Norbert defender Zoe Kurth earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. 

MWC Tournament runner-up St. Norbert finished with five award winners with Monmouth and Grinnell each having four representatives. Lawrence garnered two spots on the list while Beloit, Illinois C., Knox, Lake Forest and Ripon each having a lone representatives.

Koula is the first Viking to win Offensive Player of the Year since its inception in 2004 after leading Lawrence to a MWC Tournament berth. She finished the season third in the conference in both points (45) and goals (20) while scoring five game winning goals which was good for second in the league. Koula also set a NCAA record during the regular season when she scored three goals in a 42 second span against Beloit on October 15 which shattered the previous record of 1:07. Koula finished her Viking career with 63 goals which is a school record.

Vanden Avond is the first freshman to win the Offensive Player of the Year award since the 2006 season and the first Green Knight since Jessica Schadrie in 2008. She finished the regular season as the leading goal scorer in the nation with 28 and also led the league with 64 points and eight assists. Vanden Avond scored an average of 3.20 points per game and contributed six game winning goals.

Kurth is the first Green Knight to win the Defensive Player of the Year award leading a defense that allowed only 1.80 goals per game. Along with her strong defensive play Kurth finished third on the team with 11 points (three goals, five assists) starting in all 20 of the Green Knight contests as a sophomore.

Dennis Detrie earned his first Coach of the Year honor and is the first St. Norbert coach to win the award since Chad Johnson did so in the 2000 season. Detrie led the Green Knights to a share of the MWC Championship also earning a spot in the MWC Tournament where St. Norbert fell to Carroll in the championship game. St. Norbert finished the season 11-8-1 under Detrie, 7-1-1 in conference play.

Carroll had three defenders named to the first-team in Kate Tarquino, Leah Wiercinski and Lauren Demski who led the Pioneer’s top ranked defense that allowed only a goal per game and a league-best 0.98 goals against average. Demiski (six goals, one assist) and Wiercinski (three goals, six assists) were also active on the offensive end while Tarquino chipped in an assist on the season.

Brandi Peltier earned a first-team spot after she led Ripon with a strong freshman campaign finishing second in the league in points (56) and goals scored (25). Beloit’s Molly Dickson and St. Norbert’s Katherine Larson also joined Peltier on first-team after successful offensive seasons. Dickson scored 15 goals and had 32 points while Larson had 11 goals and 27 points, both in the top-10 in the MWC.

Grinnell’s Nicole Sipfle was a first-team selection leading the Pioneers defense this season that allowed only 1.22 goals per game and a 1.19 team goals against average. 2010 Defensive Player of the Year Samantha Barranco was the first-team goalkeeper after posting a 1.20 goals against average and a league-best save percentage of .832.
 

2011 Award Winners

First Team

Second Team

Honorable Mention

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