GCU’s Nesic named Player of Year; CBU’s Allard, Nicassio earn Freshman, Newcomer honors

PHOENIX, AZ – Grand Canyon junior midfielder Marina Nesic (Koceljeva, Serbia) has been named the 2011 Pacific West Conference Women’s Soccer Player of the Year for the second straight season.

The PacWest announced the honor on Tuesday, Nov. 15, along with its four other major awards and the 2011 All-PacWest Women’s Soccer Team. The head coaches of the PacWest vote on the All-PacWest Team, selecting a First Team, Second Team and Honorable Mention squad for forwards, midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers.

Nesic helped guide the Antelopes to the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament by recording 26 points on 10 goals and six assists this season. She converted all three of her penalty kick attempts. For her efforts, she earned a place on the All-PacWest First Team for the second straight season.

California Baptist, the PacWest Champion, claimed the four other major honors, including Coach of the Year accolades earned by Kristen St. Clair. She led the Lancers to a 15-2-1 overall mark and a conference record of 10-1-1 in winning the PacWest title during CBU’s inaugural season in the league.

The Newcomer of the Year honor belonged to CBU senior forward Kylee Nicassio (Alta Loma, CA/Los Osos), while Freshman of the Year accolades belonged to Lancer rookie forward Kimberly Allard (Riverside, CA/La Sierra).

Nicassio totaled 31 points on 13 goals and five assists, while Allard amassed 28 points on 10 goals and eight assists. Both players registered four game-winning goals and claimed All-PacWest First Team honors.

California Baptist senior Nicoline Jorgensen (Odense, Denmark) shared the 2011 PacWest Goalkeeper of the Year award with Hawai‘i Pacific senior Carianne Makino (Honolulu, HI/Kaiser). Both players earned All-PacWest First Team honors for their selection.

Jorgensen posted a 0.67 goals against average and an .836 save percentage while building a 14-2-1 record. She registered 56 saves and seven shutouts in 17 starts and 1466:48 of action.

Makino - the 2009 Goalkeeper of the Year, All-PacWest First Team choice in 2009, and All-PacWest Second Team selection last year - finished the season with a 10-5-2 record, six shutouts and a 1.21 goals against average in 17 starts. She had 80 saves (.792 save percentage) in 1559:59 of action.

BYU-Hawaii sophomore netminder Megan McCain (Northglenn, CO/Broomfield) – the 2010 PacWest Goalkeeper of the Year and a First Team All-Conference selection last year – made Honorable Mention this season. She posted a 12-3-1 record with six shutouts, a .796 save percentage, a 0.67 goals against average and 39 saves in 16 starts. She spent 1335:17 in net.

In addition to Allard and Nicassio, the All-PacWest First Team forwards featured BYU-Hawaii senior Britt Edman (Salt Lake City, UT/Highland) and HPU junior Kaua Wall (Kealakekua, HI/Konawaena).

Edman scored 12 goals, added an assist and totaled 25 points in 16 games. She had four game-winning goals. Wall, meanwhile, scored nine times with two assists and finished the season with 20 points. She was credited with a trio of game-winners.

The Second Team forwards included Grand Canyon senior Julia Anglin (Litchfield Park, AZ/Desert Edge), Notre Dame de Namur senior Sarah Biser (Newark, CA/Newark Memorial), Dixie State rookie Jennifer Mason (Springville, UT/Springville) and Hawai‘i Hilo sophomore Lindsey Poulsen (Los Gatos, CA/Archbishop Mitty).

Biser was the 2008 PacWest Newcomer of the Year and a Second Team All-PacWest selection in 2010, while Poulsen also earned Second Team accolades last year. Biser finished the 2011 campaign with 18 points on eight goals and two assists with two game-winning scores. Poulsen recorded 18 points this year on seven goals and four assists.

Anglin contributed 10 points on four goals and two assists with two game-winners, while Mason punched in nine goals and added an assist for 19 points. She had one game-winner.

Four forwards were named Honorable Mention, including a pair from Grand Canyon in senior Jessica Brillantes (Anaheim, CA/Loara) and rookie Gabriella Zavala de Rojas (San Diego, CA/San Diego High School of International Studies). Zavala de Rojas had a goal and an assist this year, while Brillantes tallied one goal.

California Baptist senior Amanda Lammers (Menifee, CA/Calvary Chapel) and Notre Dame de Namur freshman Jessica Santos (Rocklin, CA/Rocklin) also picked up an Honorable Mention award. Lammers recorded 16 points on seven goals and two assists with one game-winner, while Santos had five goals and 10 points with a game-winning score.

In addition to Nesic earning All-PacWest First Team Midfield honors, GCU sophomore Jessica Scarpati (Las Vegas, NV/Shadow Ridge), Dixie State sophomore Mindi Beckstrom (Nibley, UT/Mountain Crest) and California Baptist senior Fabiola Zanella da Silva (Curitiba, Brazil) also picked up the honors.

Beckstrom, an All-PacWest Second Team Forward last year, totaled 10 points on four goals and two assists this season. She also tallied one game-winning goal. Scarpati had two goals, including one game-winner, to go along with four points, while Zanella da Silva amassed 28 points on 10 goals and eight assists. She recorded a trio of game-deciding scores and converted her lone penalty shot attempt.

Second Team Midfield honors had a pair of familiar faces in HPU junior Sanoe Souza (Lawai, HI/Kamehameha-Kapalama) and Notre Dame de Namur junior Alexis Tershay (Sunnyvale, CA/Fremont).

Souza, a 2010 Honorable Mention, made the jump to the Second Team after totaling 16 points on five goals and six assists for the Sea Warriors. She was credited with one game-winning goal and drilled home her lone penalty kick attempt.

Tershay had a goal and three assists for a total of five points. She was a 2009 All-PacWest Honorable Mention.

The Second Team also featured BYU-Hawaii senior Natalie Drewery (Sandy, UT/Alta) and Academy of Art sophomore Margret Thorolfsdottir (Reykjavik, Iceland). Drewery totaled 14 points on seven goals with four game-winning scores, while Thorolfsdottir accounted for 15 points on seven goals and one assist with one game-winner.

Hawai‘i Pacific sophomore Andrea Aguirre (Honolulu, HI/Kalani), NDNU freshman Massiel Castellanos (San Mateo, CA/Woodside Priory), Dominican (CA) senior Shayna Elkins (Santa Rosa, CA/Montgomery), Dixie State senior Camille Jensen (North Logan, UT/Sky View) and California Baptist junior Kitra Walters (Boise, ID/Borah) all earned Honorable Mention Midfield.

Jensen - a three-time All-PacWest selection - earned First Team honors in 2009 and Second Team accolades last year. This season she scored four goals, added five assists, tallied 13 points and scored one game-wining goal for the Red Storm She also converted her lone penalty kick attempt.

Aguirre corralled six goals and totaled 12 points with three game-winners this year, while Castellanos had 14 points on six goals, two assists and two game-winners. She also was 1 for 1 in penalty kick attempts.

Elkins finished the season with three goals and six points, including a game-winner, while Walters contributed a goal and two points.

The All-PacWest First Team Defense featured Dixie State junior Kelsey Tesoro (Torrance, CA/Shadow Ridge), a three-time All-PacWest selection who was an Honorable Mention in 2009 and a First Team choice last year.

Grand Canyon sophomore Cierra Valdez (Phoenix, AZ/Westview), who had three goals and six points this year, joined Tesoro on the First Team along with California Baptist sophomore Kristen Witchey (Santa Barbara, CA/Dos Pueblos).

The Second Team featured HPU junior Liana Gualdarama (Waianae, HI/Kapolei) – an Honorable Mention in 2009 and a Second Team pick in 2010 – BYU-Hawaii junior Sadie Kamoe (Coeur d’Alene, ID/Coeur d’Alene), and Grand Canyon junior Angelina Miraglio (Clarkston, WA/Clarkston).

The Honorable Mention squad featured GCU sophomore Cheyenne Biehl (Mesa, AZ/Red Mountain), Academy of Art senior Olivia Dupon (Portland, OR/Westview) and NDNU sophomore Amrun Singh (Fremont, CA/Mission San Jose).