Wednesday, November 28, 2018
PORTLAND, Ore. – Putting a bow on one of the most competitive seasons in conference history, a total of five representatives from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference were named to the D2CCA and United Soccer Coaches Division II All-American Teams this week.
Regular-season champion and West Region finalist Western Washington led the conference with three selections. Goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx and forward Gabriela Pelogi each earned second team nods from the United Soccer Coaches as the pair helped lead the Vikings from their respective positions on each end of the pitch.
Dierickx started all of her team's 23 matches in goal, winning 18 games while recording more shutouts (12) than goals allowed (11). Offensively, no Viking was more productive than Pelogi. The senior led Western Washington with 20 points on nine goals, including five game-winning strikes.
Rounding out the club's selections is defender Taylor Hallquist, who was named to D2CCA's Third Team. Hallquist appeared in 20 matches and anchored a defense that finished on top of the GNAC in goals allowed (0.57 per match), goals against average (0.60) and shutouts (12). She also contributed 12 points from her defensive position, totaling four goals and four assists on the season.
Seattle Pacific midfielder/defender Julia DeVere was named to the D2CCA Second Team. The GNAC Defensive Player of the Year spearheaded the Falcons defensive dominance throughout much her final season in Seattle. The team finished third in the conference in goals allowed (15), goals against average (0.81) and shutouts (8).
Capping the conference's All-American selections is Concordia's Gabrielle Ewing. The senior was named to the United Soccer Coaches Third Team after a season in which Ewing did a little bit of everything. The midfielder finished the year as the team leader in goals (8) while tying for first in points (22) on a team that took home the GNAC Championships title.
GNAC Leads United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Selections
Also released this week was the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Team, headlined by 14 representatives from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
Led by three selections for Western Washington (Dierickx, Pelogi and Hallquist), the GNAC has five players on the All-West Region First Team. Seattle Pacific (DeVere) and Concordia (Ewing) were each represented once.
The D2CCA's All-Region Teams were published earlier month, with the GNAC leading all other leagues through 11 representatives on the two-team list.
A full list of the conference's selections to the United Soccer Coaches All-West Region Team is below:
First Team
GK - Natalie Dierickx, So., Western Washington
D - Julia DeVere, Sr., Seattle Pacific
D - Taylor Hallqusit, Sr., Western Washington
M - Gabrielle Ewing, Sr., Concordia
F - Gabriela Pelogi, Sr., Western Washington
Second Team
D - Emily Nelson, Jr., Western Washington
M - Jenna-lee Baxter, Sr., Simon Fraser
M - Grace Eversaul, So., Western Washington
F - Sophia Chilczuk, So., Seattle Pacific
F - Emma Pringle, Jr., Simon Fraser
F - Kyra Radcliffe, Jr., Concordia
Third Team
D - McKenna Stocker, Sr., Concordia
M - Kasey Ames, Sr., Concordia
M - Megan Moore, Jr., Seattle Pacific