Nov. 1, 2011
2011 Big Ten Awards Release | Printable All-Big Ten List
PARK RIDGE, Ill. - Following an eight-game winning streak and a second place finish in the Big Ten, the University of Illinois soccer team and head coach Janet Rayfield were recognized for their season-long success with a multitude of All-Big Ten and Player of the Year awards. Six Illinois student-athletes combined to earn eight accolades, while Rayfield received the Big Ten Coach of the Year, as announced by the conference on Tuesday afternoon.
Sophomore midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo tallied Midfielder of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten following a 35-point, 15-goal regular season. The Naperville, Ill., native, who took home Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2010, owns seven game-winning goals on the season, tied for fourth-most among all Division-I soccer players. DiBernardo also ranks in the top-20 nationally in goals, points, goals per game and points per game. Senior defender Jenna Carosio, a midfielder for Illinois from 2008-10, tallied Big Ten Defender of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten after the Novi, Mich., native competed during every minute of the season in the center of the Illinois defense. Carosio heightened her played throughout the second half of the season, resulting in Illinois notching five consecutive shutouts and an 8-2-1 conference record, securing the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament as a result.
Senior midfielder Marissa Mykines received Second Team All-Big Ten status, as Mykines connected for seven goals and two assists, including the game-winning tallies at Michigan State in double overtime and at Northwestern. The Spokane, Wash., native's 16 points and seven goals during the 2011 season were both personal-bests, and Mykines increased production throughout the Mead High School graduate's final year - eclipsing her previous seasonal highs by five points and three goals, respectively.
A pair of Orange and Blue freshmen earned nods on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, with true-freshman defender Stephanie Pouse and redshirt-freshman forward Jannelle Flaws each being named to the 2011 edition of the list. Flaws tallied three goals and three assists for nine points one year removed from a horrific knee injury that de-railed her true-freshman season before it began. Pouse stepped up midway through the year, solidifying the Illinois backline with stellar play as an outside defender, resulting in an 8-2-0 record for the Illini when Pouse started. With the Hanover Park, Ill., native playing all but four minutes of the final 10 games, Pouse also became the first freshman since Danielle Kot in 2007 to play over 1,000 minutes on the Illinois defense.
Junior defender Kristen Gierman tallied the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award for the second consecutive season. Rayfield's Big Ten Coach of the Year honor represents the first time the tenth-year leader of the Illini received the accolade from the Big Ten. Rayfield previously took home Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year laurels from Soccer Buzz (2003) and the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (2010).
Illinois continues its season with a match-up against Ohio State (10-8-1 overall, 5-5-1 Big Ten) in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, facing the Buckeyes at Northwestern's Lakeside Field on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 1:30 p.m.
Fighting Illini Big Ten Award Winners
Janet Rayfield - Coach of the Year
Vanessa DiBernardo - Midfielder of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten
Jenna Carosio - Defender of the Year, First Team All-Big Ten
Marissa Mykines - Second Team All-Big Ten
Jannelle Flaws & Stephanie Pouse - Big Ten All-Freshman Team
Kristen Gierman - Sportsmanship Honoree
