TicketsCINCINNATI - Three members of the University of Cincinnati women's soccer team have received annual awards from the American Athletic Conference, including Vanessa Gilles, who was voted the Co-Defensive Player of the Year. The Bearcats captain joined freshmen Sophie Gorman and Kiki Lowell as all-conference honorees following a highly successful 2017 regular season that resulted in a berth into the AAC Tournament after the Bearcats finished third in the league at 5-2-2 and 12-3-3 overall.
Along with her defensive award, Gilles also was selected to the AAC First Team All-Conference for the second year in a row. Gorman, the team's leader in goals and points, was named Second Team All-Conference and to the All-Rookie Team while Lowell also selected for the All-Rookie Team.
"We are so pleased for the program that some of our players were recognized by the conference,"Head Coach Neil Stafford said. "We've had a good season thus far and it's great to see that recognized."
Gilles, a four-time AAC Defensive Player of the Week this season, is the fifth Bearcat to earn the defensive honor and the first since 2001 when Christy Hoffman was honored by the coaches of Conference USA. The post-season honor is the third major accolade of Gilles' career after she also was named the 2016 and 2017 AAC Pre-Season Defensive Player of the Year.
"A lot will be said about Vanessa in the coming years about her contributions and impact she's had on this program," Stafford said. "She is a self-driven, high achieving young woman with great character. Her standards, goals and expectations were the perfect fit to our 'Culture of Excellence'.
"Vanessa has been a great influence to our back line and been very imposing on the opposition," Stafford continued. "Vanessa is dynamic in the air, physical, reads the game well and excellent on the tackle. Vanessa's ability on the ball has continued to improve over her time, but, what makes Vanessa so impressive is her goal scoring ability as a defender. I have always felt that her ability to score from the center-back position comes from her insatiable mentality to win. Her mentality is what sets her apart from others; she is a born winner and she has made those around her better. Vanessa is the consummate student-athlete and will be a fantastic ambassador for the University of Cincinnati and the Bearcats long after graduation."
Ranked 19th on Top Drawer Soccer's Women's National Top 100 Players, Gilles is now a four-time conference team honoree after being selected to the AAC first team in 2017 and 2016, second team in 2015 and all-rookie in 2014. With her selection this year, she becomes just the third Bearcat to garner four honors, joining Tina Matlock (1995-98) and Tracy Pohl (1994-97). This year, Gilles has scored three goals while anchoring the defense to a league-best 11 shutouts. Recently, she made her 81st career start, the eighth-most in program history.
Joining Gilles on the awards lists were two freshmen that made quite an impact on the program in their first year as their play helped the Bearcats to one of its most successful seasons in program history.
"I've said all season that our freshmen have made some significant contributions to our results and certainly both Kiki and Sophie have done that," Stafford said. "Sophie has added different elements to our attack. She's sophisticated with how she thinks about space, great on the ball and scores goals. And, on the opposite end of the spectrum, Kiki has been an absolute revelation to our back line. Kiki is a fantastic athlete with great pace, physical and very difficult to beat. Kiki is also good on the ball and will only get better as she gets more experience at this level. These two players represent a very hard-working, talented and influential freshmen class."
Gorman has had a stellar rookie season as she leads the team in goals (six), assists (four) and points (16) and ranks tied for eighth in the AAC in both goals and points. She also had chipped in a trio of game-winning goals, including the winner in a 1-0 victory over Buffalo in the first match of the season and then again in a 1-0 decision over ECU Friday night to close the regular season. By being named to both the second team and rookie team, Gorman is just the third Bearcat to be named to a pair of teams in the same season, joining Lisa Stephens (2001) and Kim Jedlo (2000), both of whom were named to the rookie team and third-team all-conference by Conference USA.
Lowell has been a defensive stalwart on the back line for the Bearcats in 2017, helping patrol the defensive third and limiting chances for the opponents. The rookie played a big role in helping keep opponents off the scoreboard as UC allowed just 10 goals in the regular season while posting 11 clean sheets in 18 matches played. Lowell also got in on the scoring as she recorded her first collegiate goal at Temple, knocking home the game-winner in a 3-0 road victory that helped continue UC's hot start in conference play, moving to 3-0-1 in league action at the time.
With Lowell and Gorman both earning spots on the all-rookie team, it marks the third time in five years in the AAC that the Bearcats have placed a duo on the list and fifth time in program history. In 2014, Julie Gavorski and Gilles were both named to the All-Rookie Team one year after Natalie Smith and Katy Couperus earned their honors. Prior to that, Heather Heintzelman and Matlock were named to the Conference USA rookie team in 1995 after Krystin Flanagan and Pohl earned rookie honors in the Great Midwest Conference in 1994.
2017 AAC Awards and All-Conference Selections
Co-Defensive Player of the Year
Vanessa Gilles & Kathellen Sousa (UCF)
First Team All-Conference
Vanessa Gilles, Sr., D
Second Team All-Conference
Sophie Gorman, Fr., MF
All-Rookie Team
Sophie Gorman, Fr., MF
Kiki Lowell, Fr., D
// UPCOMING ACTION
The Bearcats are set to travel to Orlando, Fla., this week as they will compete in the 2017 AAC Tournament as the third seed in the event hosted by UCF. UC will open with a 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal match against sixth-seeded SMU on Wednesday. The winner will advance to Friday's semifinal against second-seeded USF with the match kicking at 4:30 p.m. Both of those matches will be streamed live on the American Digital Network.
// FOLLOWING THE BEARCATS
GoBearcats.com is your one-stop destination for all things UC Athletics. Socially, the team can also be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with all using the handle GoBearcatsWSOC. Head Coach Neil Stafford (@UCGaffer) also can be followed on Twitter.
Along with her defensive award, Gilles also was selected to the AAC First Team All-Conference for the second year in a row. Gorman, the team's leader in goals and points, was named Second Team All-Conference and to the All-Rookie Team while Lowell also selected for the All-Rookie Team.
"We are so pleased for the program that some of our players were recognized by the conference,"Head Coach Neil Stafford said. "We've had a good season thus far and it's great to see that recognized."
Gilles, a four-time AAC Defensive Player of the Week this season, is the fifth Bearcat to earn the defensive honor and the first since 2001 when Christy Hoffman was honored by the coaches of Conference USA. The post-season honor is the third major accolade of Gilles' career after she also was named the 2016 and 2017 AAC Pre-Season Defensive Player of the Year.
"A lot will be said about Vanessa in the coming years about her contributions and impact she's had on this program," Stafford said. "She is a self-driven, high achieving young woman with great character. Her standards, goals and expectations were the perfect fit to our 'Culture of Excellence'.
"Vanessa has been a great influence to our back line and been very imposing on the opposition," Stafford continued. "Vanessa is dynamic in the air, physical, reads the game well and excellent on the tackle. Vanessa's ability on the ball has continued to improve over her time, but, what makes Vanessa so impressive is her goal scoring ability as a defender. I have always felt that her ability to score from the center-back position comes from her insatiable mentality to win. Her mentality is what sets her apart from others; she is a born winner and she has made those around her better. Vanessa is the consummate student-athlete and will be a fantastic ambassador for the University of Cincinnati and the Bearcats long after graduation."
Ranked 19th on Top Drawer Soccer's Women's National Top 100 Players, Gilles is now a four-time conference team honoree after being selected to the AAC first team in 2017 and 2016, second team in 2015 and all-rookie in 2014. With her selection this year, she becomes just the third Bearcat to garner four honors, joining Tina Matlock (1995-98) and Tracy Pohl (1994-97). This year, Gilles has scored three goals while anchoring the defense to a league-best 11 shutouts. Recently, she made her 81st career start, the eighth-most in program history.
Joining Gilles on the awards lists were two freshmen that made quite an impact on the program in their first year as their play helped the Bearcats to one of its most successful seasons in program history.
"I've said all season that our freshmen have made some significant contributions to our results and certainly both Kiki and Sophie have done that," Stafford said. "Sophie has added different elements to our attack. She's sophisticated with how she thinks about space, great on the ball and scores goals. And, on the opposite end of the spectrum, Kiki has been an absolute revelation to our back line. Kiki is a fantastic athlete with great pace, physical and very difficult to beat. Kiki is also good on the ball and will only get better as she gets more experience at this level. These two players represent a very hard-working, talented and influential freshmen class."
Gorman has had a stellar rookie season as she leads the team in goals (six), assists (four) and points (16) and ranks tied for eighth in the AAC in both goals and points. She also had chipped in a trio of game-winning goals, including the winner in a 1-0 victory over Buffalo in the first match of the season and then again in a 1-0 decision over ECU Friday night to close the regular season. By being named to both the second team and rookie team, Gorman is just the third Bearcat to be named to a pair of teams in the same season, joining Lisa Stephens (2001) and Kim Jedlo (2000), both of whom were named to the rookie team and third-team all-conference by Conference USA.
Lowell has been a defensive stalwart on the back line for the Bearcats in 2017, helping patrol the defensive third and limiting chances for the opponents. The rookie played a big role in helping keep opponents off the scoreboard as UC allowed just 10 goals in the regular season while posting 11 clean sheets in 18 matches played. Lowell also got in on the scoring as she recorded her first collegiate goal at Temple, knocking home the game-winner in a 3-0 road victory that helped continue UC's hot start in conference play, moving to 3-0-1 in league action at the time.
With Lowell and Gorman both earning spots on the all-rookie team, it marks the third time in five years in the AAC that the Bearcats have placed a duo on the list and fifth time in program history. In 2014, Julie Gavorski and Gilles were both named to the All-Rookie Team one year after Natalie Smith and Katy Couperus earned their honors. Prior to that, Heather Heintzelman and Matlock were named to the Conference USA rookie team in 1995 after Krystin Flanagan and Pohl earned rookie honors in the Great Midwest Conference in 1994.
2017 AAC Awards and All-Conference Selections
Co-Defensive Player of the Year
Vanessa Gilles & Kathellen Sousa (UCF)
First Team All-Conference
Vanessa Gilles, Sr., D
Second Team All-Conference
Sophie Gorman, Fr., MF
All-Rookie Team
Sophie Gorman, Fr., MF
Kiki Lowell, Fr., D
// UPCOMING ACTION
The Bearcats are set to travel to Orlando, Fla., this week as they will compete in the 2017 AAC Tournament as the third seed in the event hosted by UCF. UC will open with a 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal match against sixth-seeded SMU on Wednesday. The winner will advance to Friday's semifinal against second-seeded USF with the match kicking at 4:30 p.m. Both of those matches will be streamed live on the American Digital Network.
// FOLLOWING THE BEARCATS
GoBearcats.com is your one-stop destination for all things UC Athletics. Socially, the team can also be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with all using the handle GoBearcatsWSOC. Head Coach Neil Stafford (@UCGaffer) also can be followed on Twitter.