|
UCLA's DiMartino and Stanford's Taylor and Ratcliffe Earn All-Pac-10 Honors
Nov. 13, 2008 Walnut Creek, Calif. -
UCLA senior midfielder Christina DiMartino was named Pac-10 Player of the Year, STANFORD forward Lindsay Taylor was named Freshman of the Year and STANFORD head coach Paul Ratcliffe was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year, as Commissioner Tom Hansen announced the Women's Soccer All-Conference honors today. PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE YEAR -- CHRISTINA DIMARTINO, UCLA DiMartino, a native of Massapequa, N.Y., is the fifth Pac-10 Player of the Year recipient from UCLA all-time. Playing in 91 games in her four-year career at UCLA, DiMartino has been a part of a Pac-10 title team each season she competed. En route to UCLA's sixth-straight Pac-10 Championship, DiMartino scored the game-winning goal against the Stanford Cardinal, which would eventually clinch the title once again for the Bruins. In a scoreless tie with fellow unbeaten Stanford, DiMartino took her only shot of the game, 25 yards out and scored UCLA's go ahead goal with 13 minutes left in regulation. "I am extremely proud of Tina for achieving this award," said UCLA head coach Jillian Ellis. "It is rare that a midfielder gets recognized in this way, and I believe it's a testament to Tina's ability and significance on this team." With her six assists this season, DiMartino moves into second-place, behind Iris Mora (2002-05), on UCLA's all-time career assist leaders, with 30. DiMartino also moved into the top-10 on UCLA's career scoring list. "I am thrilled that my peers were able to recognize that and vote her this year's Pac-10 Player of the Year," added Ellis. PAC-10 FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR -- LINDSAY TAYLOR, STANFORD Taylor, a 5-7 forward from Los Altos, Calif., is the fourth Stanford player, all-time, to earn Freshman of the Year honors. Taylor, starting in all 19 games she played this season, leads the Conference in five major categories. Tied with fellow teammate Christen Press in total points, Taylor recorded 35 points on the season for a Pac-10 best 1.84 points per game. She also leads the Conference in goals (16), goals per game (0.84) and game-winning goals (7). "I'm very proud of Lindsay," said Stanford head coach Paul Ratcliffe. "She had a fantastic freshman season. Scoring 16 goals as a freshman is an extraordinary accomplishment. I can't say enough about Lindsay." Taylor had little trouble finding the back of the net this season, registering four multi-goal games, including a blistering three-goal performance against Santa Clara. "She is a great team player, as well. She really helped our team emerge as one of the top teams in the country," remarked Ratcliffe. PAC-10 COACH OF THE YEAR -- PAUL RATCLIFFE, STANFORD Earning one of the nation's four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, Paul Ratcliffe was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. In 2008, Stanford proved to be one of the biggest offensive threats in the nation, outscoring its opponents 62-7 throughout the season. "[Being named Coach of the Year is] a great honor and I'm proud of that accomplishment," said Ratcliffe. "Obviously the coaches in the Pac-10 are all fantastic coaches. It is a huge honor and I'm very humbled by it." Stanford finished the regular season 18-1-1, only losing a close contest with UCLA and tying up North Carolina at home, both fellow No. 1 seeds in the tournament. Ratcliffe's players rank in the top of the Pac-10 in almost every single category this season. Stanford players mark the top-three spots in points and points per game, and the top-two spots in goals and goals per game. Ratcliffe makes his sixth consecutive appearance in the postseason as the Cardinal head coach and 11th-consecutive trip in school history. FIRST TEAM Name Pos. Year School Marisa Abegg* D Sr. Stanford Lauren Cheney** F Jr. UCLA Christina DiMartino** MF Sr. UCLA Erin Hardy* D Sr. UCLA Liz Harkin D Jr. Arizona State Alex Morgan F So. California Ashley Nick* MF Sr. USC Teresa Noyola MF Fr. Stanford Amy Rodriguez* F Sr. USC Lindsay Taylor F Fr. Stanford Ashley Thompson GK Sr. UCLA Katie Oakes (CAL, Jr., MF); Jen Stoltenberg (ORE, So., F); Elysse Van Leer (WSU, Jr., F); Karin Volpe (ASU, So., F); McCall Zerboni (UCLA, Sr., MF).
|
