DALLAS – Conference USA announced the 2021 C-USA Women’s Soccer Superlative Awards along with the league’s All-Conference and All-Freshman teams, and East Division champion Old Dominion led the league with three superlative award winners and six honorees.
A total of 13 programs are represented on the awards list this season. All awards are voted on by the league’s 14 head coaches.
The C-USA Superlative Awards were given to Rice midfielder
Delaney Schultz, who was selected as the C-USA Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year, Middle Tennessee forward
Peyton DePriest (Offensive Player of the Year), Old Dominion’s
Emily Roberts (Defensive Player of the Year), Old Dominon’s
Kasey Perry (Goalkeeper of the Year), Southern Miss midfielder
Ilana Izquierdo (Freshman of the Year) and Old Dominion’s
Angie Hind (Coach of the Year).
Schultz, a junior, was second in points (25), second in points per game (1.47), second in goals (nine), second in shots (56), third in goals per game (0.53), third in assists (seven), third in shots per game (3.29) and fourth in assists per game (0.41) in 17 games played. In eight C-USA games, she scored three goals and added three assists for nine points. Two of her three conference goals were game winners for Rice. Schultz was the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week on October 12.
DePriest, a senior, set Conference USA career records for goals (57) and points (125) at Middle Tennessee this season as she earned C-USA’s Offensive Player of the Year award for a record third time. She led all C-USA players in goals (11), points (26) and shots (75). She also posted five multiple-point games, the most among C-USA players. In eight conference games, DePriest was tied for first in goals (four), tied for first in points (10) and was second in shots taken (29). She was the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week on September 7.
Roberts captained the ODU backline to seven C-USA shutouts and only one goal against while playing every minute in the eight conference contests. The senior also added a goal and two assists in 15 overall games. A dominant defender in every game, Roberts was the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week twice (September 21 and October 31).
Perry, a two-time C-USA Goalkeeper of the Week (September 21 and October 12), tied for second in the league in shutouts with seven in 12 games and a league-leading six in C-USA games for Old Dominion. The senior led all C-USA keepers in goals against average at 0.51 overall, including a 0.14 GAA in seven conference games.
Izquierdo is the first Southern Miss player to be named the C-USA Freshman of the Year. She was fourth overall with seven goals in 14 games and was tied for fifth overall with five assists. Her 19 points ranked fourth overall in the conference.
Hind earned her first C-USA Coach of the Year award after leading Old Dominion to the C-USA East Division title with a 6-1-1 conference record as part of a 10-4-1 overall mark. Hind had a league-leading six All-Conference and All-Freshman players on the squad, including Defensive Player of the Year Emily Roberts and Goalkeeper of the Year Kasey Perry. The Monarchs offense scored 21 goals in 15 games, while the ODU defense allowed only eight goals – including just one in eight conference games.
Schultz, DePriest, Roberts. Perry and Izquierdo were all part of the First Team All-Conference USA squad. Joining them were defenders
Brooke Lampe (North Texas) and
Avery Jacobsen (WKU), midfielders
Gi Krstec (Florida Atlantic) and
Ece Turkoglu (Old Dominion) and forwards
Miracle Porter (Florida Atlantic) and
Ariel Diaz (Southern Miss).
The coaches also selected Second Team and Third Team All-Conference squads and an All-Freshman Team.
The 2021 C-USA Women’s Soccer Championship commences with a pair of first-round games Monday, November 1 at the FAU Soccer Stadium on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTSA and WKU will battle it out in the eight-team championship. The quarterfinals are set for Wednesday, November 3, the semifinal round will be played Friday, November 5, and the C-USA championship game is scheduled for Sunday, November 7 at 12 p.m. CT. All matches of the league’s 27th championship will be streamed on ESPN+.
2021 C-USA Women’s Soccer All-Conference Award Winners
Player of the Year
Delaney Schultz, Rice
Offensive Player of the Year
Peyton DePriest, Middle Tennessee
Defensive Player of the Year
Emily Roberts, Old Dominion
Midfielder of the Year
Delaney Schultz, Rice
Goalkeeper of the Year
Kasey Perry, Old Dominion
Freshman of the Year
Ilana Izquierdo, Southern Miss
Coach of the Year
Angie Hind, Old Dominion
All-Conference USA First Team
GK: Kasey Perry, Old Dominion
D: Brooke Lampe, North Texas
D: Emily Roberts, Old Dominion
D: Avery Jacobsen, WKU
MF: Gi Krstec, Florida Atlantic
MF: Ece Turkoglu, Old Dominion
MF: Delaney Schultz, Rice
MF: Ilana Izquierdo, Southern Miss
F: Miracle Porter, Florida Atlantic
F: Peyton DePriest, Middle Tennessee
F: Ariel Diaz, Southern Miss
All-Conference USA Second Team
GK: Bella Kilgore, Rice
D: Amanda Martin, Florida Atlantic
D: Josie Studer, Louisiana Tech
D: Kendall Kloza, UTSA
MF: Piper Biziorek, Charlotte
MF: Sam DeBien, Middle Tennessee
MF: Taylor Tufts, North Texas
MF: Ellis Patterson, UTSA
F: Lexxe Lipsey, UAB
F: Laura Zemberyova, UAB
F: Anna Sutter, UTSA
All-Conference USA Third Team
GK: Kendell Mindnich, Southern Miss
D: Kristy Campbell, Charlotte
D: Caleigh Page, Rice
D: Macie Pennington, Southern Miss
MF: Kat Gonzalez, Marshall
MF: Gry Boe Thrysoe, Old Dominion
MF: Stella Kiss, UAB
MF: Asha Zuniga, UAB
F: Morgan White, Marshall
F: Allie Byrd, North Texas
F: Carla Morich, Old Dominion
F: Katie Erwin, WKU
C-USA All-Freshman Team
Kiara Pralle, D, Charlotte
Noemi Paquin, F, FIU
Jodi Smith, D, Florida Atlantic
Meg Jarvis, F, Marshall
Sascha Nielsen, D, Middle Tennessee
Jori Foote, D, North Texas
Gry Boe Thrysoe, MF, Old Dominion
Ilana Izquierdo, MF, Southern Miss
Kendall Page, F, UAB
Anna Sutter, F, UTSA
Brooke Sleeva, MF, WKU