DALLAS – Conference USA’s 2019 regular-season champion Florida Atlantic leads the league with three superlative award winners and seven across this year’s All-Conference and All-Freshman teams. Thirteen programs are represented on the awards list this season, with several repeat honorees and new faces from around the conference. All awards are voted on by the league’s 14 head coaches.
 
Florida Atlantic’s Patrick Baker earned his second consecutive Coach of the Year award after leading the Owls to their second overall and first outright C-USA regular-season title. This campaign, Baker’s squad reached the 14-win mark for the sixth time in program history and the first time since 2005. The team is headlined by several All-Conference selections, including Midfielder of the Year Mary O’Hara and Co-Freshman of the Year Luisa Daikeler.
 
O’Hara leads all midfielders with 10 goals on the season thus far. That total also ranks fourth in C-USA overall. The Islip, New York, native paced Florida Atlantic in the regular season with 22 points and is just the tenth player in program history to reach double digits in scoring in a single season.
 
Daikeler played 971 minutes for the Owls, leading a backline that ranks second in the conference with a 0.88 goals-against average. The freshman defender also tallied an assist in her breakout freshman year.
 
Old Dominion’s Ece Turkoglu shares Freshman of the Year honors. Turkoglu ranked fifth on the team with seven points on two goals and three assists while marshaling the entire center of the midfield in her first year with the Monarchs.
 
North Texas’ Kelsey Brann was tabbed Goalkeeper of the Year. The redshirt sophomore leads the conference with 11 shutouts and a 0.64 goals-against average. Brann tallied fifty saves in the regular season and won Player of the Week accolades three times.
 
North Texas’ Dominique James was voted Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row. After being named the 2019 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, James continued her defensive dominance, pacing a backline that tallied 12 shutouts and only allowed two goals in conference play.
 
Rounding out the superlative award winners is Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, Middle Tennessee’s Peyton DePriest. After receiving the offensive award last year, the junior has had a stellar 2019 season so far, breaking the Blue Raiders’ program record by scoring her 40^th career goal. DePriest led the league in conference play with 11 goals and 24 points. Overall, she has scored 16 goals and tallied 34 points, even while missing three games due to injury.
 
Florida Atlantic earned two more spots on First Team in Alex Maxson and Pernille Velta. As a senior, Maxson has played a key role in the Owls’ defensive unit that has tallied five shutouts and allowed just 16 goals. Velta, a senior forward, ranks second on the team with 20 points off eight goals and four assists, tying her for ninth in C-USA.
 
Charlotte is represented on First Team by Riley Orr and Megan Greene. No stranger to conference honors, Orr and Greene made the most of their senior years with the 49ers. Orr led Charlotte to five shutouts thus far and also has had her best offensive season with two goals. Greene ranks first on the squad with eight goals, good for sixth in the league.  She is the first player in Charlotte history to record three hat tricks.
 
Three sophomores round out the 2019 First Team – Louisiana Tech’s Autumn Woodard, Middle Tennessee’s Hannah Tillett and WKU’s Ambere Barnett.
 
In her first year with the Lady Techsters, Woodard has made her mark in the conference and program record books. The sophomore transfer leads the league with 39 points and 17 goals, setting new program records. The forwardalso scored in seven straight games, a new program record.
 
After being named Freshman of the Year in 2019, Tillett continues to excel for the Blue Raiders, starting in every game. The midfielder is tied for third in C-USA with seven assists and seventh with 21 points.
 
Barnett stands tied for WKU’s lead with 16 points off five goals and six assists. The midfielder’s six assists puts her tied for sixth in the conference in 2019.
 
The coaches also selected All-Conference Second and Third Teams and an All-Freshman Team, listed below.
 
The 2019 C-USA Women’s Soccer Championship commences Wednesday, Nov. 6 at the North Texas Track & Soccer Complex in Denton, Texas. Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, Charlotte, WKU, Middle Tennessee, UTEP and Louisiana Tech will battle it out in the eight-team, three-day championship. All matches of the league’s 25^th championship will be streamed on ESPN+. The championship match is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 10 at Noon CT.
 
2019 C-USA Women’s Soccer All-Conference Award Winners

Player of the Year Presented by Ready Nutrition
Peyton DePriest, Middle Tennessee
 
Offensive Player of the Year
Peyton DePriest, Middle Tennessee
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Dominique James, North Texas
 
Midfielder of the Year
Mary O’Hara, Florida Atlantic

Goalkeeper of the Year
Kelsey Brann, North Texas
 
Co-Freshman of the Year
Luisa Daikeler, Florida Atlantic
 
Co-Freshman of the Year
Ece Turkoglu, Old Dominion
 
Coach of the Year
Patrick Baker, Florida Atlantic
 
All-Conference USA First Team
GK: Kelsey Brann, North Texas
D: Riley Orr, Charlotte
D: Alex Maxson, Florida Atlantic
D: Dominique James, North Texas
MF: Mary O’Hara, Florida Atlantic
MF: Hannah Tillett, Middle Tennessee
MF: Ambere Barnett, WKU
F: Megan Greene, Charlotte
F: Pernille Velta, Florida Atlantic
F: Autumn Woodard, Louisiana Tech
F: Peyton DePriest, Middle Tennessee
 
All-Conference USA Second Team
GK: Cassidy Wasdin, Florida Atlantic
D: Emily Roberts, Old Dominion
D: Mijke Roelfsema, Rice
D: Caitlin Pierce, Southern Miss
D: Lauren Crenshaw, UTEP
MF: Julia Grainda, Charlotte
MF: Talia Tapper, Old Dominion
MF: Delaney Schultz, Rice
F: Marah Abu-Tayeh, Marshall
F: Berklee Peters, North Texas
F: Ellis Patterson, UTSA
 
All-Conference USA Third Team
GK: Eve Beyer, UAB
D: Luisa Daikeler, Florida Atlantic
D: Elizabeth Doll, Louisiana Tech
D: Audria Wood, UAB
D: Kaylyn Bryant, WKU
MF: Logan Bruffett, North Texas
MF: Ece Turkoglu, Old Dominion
MF: Lianne Mananquil, Rice
MF: Jenny Caracheo, Southern Miss
F: Allie Byrd, North Texas
F: Lexi Bolton, UTSA
F: Ariel Diaz, Southern Miss
 
C-USA All-Freshman Team
Kristy Campbell, D, Charlotte
Julia Patrum, MF, Charlotte
Luisa Daikeler, D, Florida Atlantic
Cassidy Wasdin, GK, Florida Atlantic
Josie Studer, D, Louisiana Tech
Mackenzie Bonham, MF, Middle Tennessee
Allie Byrd, F, North Texas
Ece Turkoglu, MF, Old Dominion
Eve Beyer, GK, UAB
Tessa Carlin, MF, UTEP
Deja Sandoval, D, UTSA
Ansley Cate, F, WKU