TicketsCINCINNATI - The Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association (OCSA) announced its annual Academic All-Ohio honors this week with three members of the University of Cincinnati women's soccer program garnering recognition, including Vanessa Gilles, who earned placement on the first team. Gilles was joined by Jaycie Brown and Jordan Cotleur, both of whom earned second team accolades.
The three honors marks the fifth year in a row that at least three Bearcats have been honored by the OCSA for academic success and the fourth year in a row in which UC had at least one first-team honoree. Gilles earned her third-consecutive first-team award from the OCSA while Brown earned an honor for the third year in a row after being named to the second team in 2016 and the first team in 2015. Cotleur earned her first OCSA academic award.
In the past six years, both Gilles and Brown join Megan Cravenor as three-time honorees after Cravenor earned second team in 2012, third team in 2013 and first team in 2014. Gilles, who was named OCSA All-Ohio First Team earlier this week for the third time in her career, now has six total OCSA awards, the most of any UC women's player with Kristina Wilson garnering five total awards (2000-03), including four academic and one athletic honor. Gilles also added her name to the list of Bearcats that earned first team athletic and academic in the same year for the third year in a row, joining Christy Hoffman (2001) as the only UC players to do so.
The three Bearcats honored by the OCSA also earned CoSIDA Academic All-District earlier this season to add to the academic award haul. From there, Gilles was tabbed a CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team honoree, a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Second Team honoree and a USC Scholar All-North/Central Region First Team honoree. All three women also had a hand in an extremely strong showing in the classroom this semester as the team carried a 3.647 GPA with 28 individuals scoring a 3.0 GPA or better with 25 recording higher than 3.4 GPA including 10 that posted a 4.0.
Gilles, the 2017 American Athletic Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year, sported a 3.97 overall grade-point average and has posted four semesters with a perfect 4.00 GPA during her collegiate career. A two-time AAC All-Conference First Team honoree, Gilles recently played her final collegiate match, helping UC to four years of improved winning percentages, one of the top defenses in the league and a conference title in 2015. Her career saw her start and play 82 matches, the eighth-most in program history, as she anchored a defense that continued to improve each year, helping a program that allowed 37 goals prior to her arrival drop that total to 11 this year.
Brown, a criminal justice major with a 3.76 GPA, recorded her first 4.00 GPA in the Spring 2017 semester to be named a UC TopCat. In her career, Brown scored seven game-winning goals, which ranks as the eighth-most in program history, some of which came in crucial moments, including the equalizer in the final of the 2015 AAC Tournament that forced penalty kicks that UC won, earning the crown and the team's first NCAA appearance since 2002. For her efforts, she was named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the Tournament.
Cotleur finished her junior campaign with the Bearcats and currently carries a 3.98 GPA in international affairs. A four-time TopCat honoree, Cotleur has been a disruptive force on the front line for the Bearcats, helping set up goals and stretch the defense. This year, she scored once to bring her career total to seven goals with three assists for 17 points and has tallied three game-winners as well in her 58 appearances for the program.
The three honors marks the fifth year in a row that at least three Bearcats have been honored by the OCSA for academic success and the fourth year in a row in which UC had at least one first-team honoree. Gilles earned her third-consecutive first-team award from the OCSA while Brown earned an honor for the third year in a row after being named to the second team in 2016 and the first team in 2015. Cotleur earned her first OCSA academic award.
In the past six years, both Gilles and Brown join Megan Cravenor as three-time honorees after Cravenor earned second team in 2012, third team in 2013 and first team in 2014. Gilles, who was named OCSA All-Ohio First Team earlier this week for the third time in her career, now has six total OCSA awards, the most of any UC women's player with Kristina Wilson garnering five total awards (2000-03), including four academic and one athletic honor. Gilles also added her name to the list of Bearcats that earned first team athletic and academic in the same year for the third year in a row, joining Christy Hoffman (2001) as the only UC players to do so.
The three Bearcats honored by the OCSA also earned CoSIDA Academic All-District earlier this season to add to the academic award haul. From there, Gilles was tabbed a CoSIDA Academic All-America Third Team honoree, a United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America Second Team honoree and a USC Scholar All-North/Central Region First Team honoree. All three women also had a hand in an extremely strong showing in the classroom this semester as the team carried a 3.647 GPA with 28 individuals scoring a 3.0 GPA or better with 25 recording higher than 3.4 GPA including 10 that posted a 4.0.
Gilles, the 2017 American Athletic Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year, sported a 3.97 overall grade-point average and has posted four semesters with a perfect 4.00 GPA during her collegiate career. A two-time AAC All-Conference First Team honoree, Gilles recently played her final collegiate match, helping UC to four years of improved winning percentages, one of the top defenses in the league and a conference title in 2015. Her career saw her start and play 82 matches, the eighth-most in program history, as she anchored a defense that continued to improve each year, helping a program that allowed 37 goals prior to her arrival drop that total to 11 this year.
Brown, a criminal justice major with a 3.76 GPA, recorded her first 4.00 GPA in the Spring 2017 semester to be named a UC TopCat. In her career, Brown scored seven game-winning goals, which ranks as the eighth-most in program history, some of which came in crucial moments, including the equalizer in the final of the 2015 AAC Tournament that forced penalty kicks that UC won, earning the crown and the team's first NCAA appearance since 2002. For her efforts, she was named the Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the Tournament.
Cotleur finished her junior campaign with the Bearcats and currently carries a 3.98 GPA in international affairs. A four-time TopCat honoree, Cotleur has been a disruptive force on the front line for the Bearcats, helping set up goals and stretch the defense. This year, she scored once to bring her career total to seven goals with three assists for 17 points and has tallied three game-winners as well in her 58 appearances for the program.
#Congrats to Gilles, Brown & Cotleur for earning OCSA Academic All-Ohio honors! All three ladies also helped the #Bearcats to another successful semester in the classroom (3.65 GPA)!
— Cincinnati W-Soccer (@GoBearcatsWSOC) December 22, 2017
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