TicketsCINCINNATI - The American Athletic Conference today announced its annual women's soccer award winners for the 2019 season with three members of the University of Cincinnati program receiving four total accolades, including Ashley Barron, who was named AAC First Team All-Conference as well as a member of the AAC All-Rookie Team. Joining Barron, the first freshman in program history to earn first-team all-conference accolades, were junior Sophie Gorman, who was named AAC First Team All-Conference, and freshman Han Tang, who earned a spot on the AAC All-Rookie Team.
// STAFFORD SPEAKS
"It's great to see the program getting a little bit of recognition by other coaches in the conference," Head Coach Neil Stafford said. "I felt there were several players (this season) that were worthy of the attention. I'm really proud and happy for Ashley, Sophie and Tang to get that recognition and I know they'd be the first to say the full credit goes to their teammates that supported and complimented their efforts in so many different ways."
// AWARD HISTORY
With the quartet of selections in 2019, Cincinnati has placed at least one individual on the AAC All-Rookie Team in all seven seasons the league has competed while also placing at least one individual on the first or second all-conference teams every year. All told, UC has now seen its players earn four AAC First Team, seven AAC Second Team and 11 AAC All-Rookie Team accolades since 2013.
The selections for Barron and Gorman mark the first time UC has placed two players on the first team in AAC history with Vanessa Gilles earning the previous two honors with one each in 2016 and 2017. Additionally, the duo becomes the first UC teammates to earn first-team accolades from a conference since 2001 when Heather Herweh, Christy Hoffman and Ann Thomas were recognized by Conference USA. All told, the two honors this season is the sixth time since 1994 multiple players have been recognized as first-team honorees.
UC has now placed two players on the AAC All-Rookie team for the fourth-time in league history and the sixth time overall when counting other leagues. The last time two Bearcats were honored was 2017 with Gorman and Kiki Lowell both being named to the team.
2 for 22!
— Cincinnati W-Soccer (@GoBearcatsWSOC) November 5, 2019
Congrats to @ashleyybarron for earning 2⃣ honors today:
🏆 @American_WSoc First Team All-Conference
🆕 #AmericanWSOC All-Rookie
She is the first #Bearcats freshman to earn first-team all-conference in program history!#CultureofExcellence pic.twitter.com/dvzCTCOLx2
// TWO FOR TWENTY-TWO
Barron was one of the top defenders in the league all season as noted by the coaches' votes as she and Mya Jones (Memphis), the 2019 AAC Rookie of the Year, were the only two freshmen to not only earn a spot on the all-conference first team, but also were the only two rookies to earn all-conference accolades (first and second team) this year. A two-time AAC Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 30 & Oct. 28), Barron is the first freshman in program history to earn a spot on a conference's first team and is only the second to earn all-conference along with All-Rookie in the same year, joining Gorman, who was named to the second team her freshman season.
"Ashley came in fit, passed the Gauntlet (fitness test) and embraced almost everything we threw at her," Stafford said. "She's an immense talent but it's her mentality and belief in herself that pushed her through. Like anyone else, she had her moments during the season but she worked through them and grew not just as player, but as a young woman also. I've talked to the team about the legacies left behind by the alumni and the fantastic standards that they had set. With Ash being the only freshman in our program's history to be AAC First Team All-Conference as a freshman is phenomenal. There is no doubt in my mind that if Ashley continues in the direction that she's going, she'll continue to create new standards for our program on and off the field."
On the pitch, the true freshman helped the Bearcats defense post eight clean sheets on the year while also helping the team post a stretch of nearly 500 minutes in which they shutout their foes. Of those eight shutouts, three came on the road against conference foes, the most in a single AAC season in UC history.
Barron, started 18 of the 19 matches the Bearcats played this year and logged 1,571 minutes, the most of any non-goalie on the team. Offensively, she logged eight shots with one goal and two points, both of which were huge for the Bearcats as the goal was the game-winner in a 1-0 defeat of UCF that guaranteed UC a finish in the Top 4 of the AAC standings and a spot in the conference tournament.
Congrats to @s_gorman5 for earning @American_WSoc First Team All-Conference! This is Sophie's second all-conference team and third award after also earning All-Rookie in 2017 with her second-team accolade!#CultureofExcellence pic.twitter.com/SUxMXHxO4Y
— Cincinnati W-Soccer (@GoBearcatsWSOC) November 5, 2019
// GORMAN HONORED AGAIN
Gorman's name appeared on the conference award lists for the third year in a row and the second time for the postseason. Prior to this year, Gorman was named all-conference second team and All-Rookie in 2017 before earning first-team all-conference honors in the 2018 preseason awards. Gorman is now the 13th different UC woman to earn at least two selections to an all-conference team (first and second team only) and just the second in the AAC joining Gilles, a three-time honoree (2nd in 2015, 1st in 2016 & 2017).
"Sophie came into her junior year with something to prove" Stafford said. "You could see that she had worked hard in certain areas that would improve her impact on the field. Sophie is such a threat on the ball, she has great balance, is very intelligent with her decisions and has become more impactful in her defensive duties also. Sophie cares so much about the program and leads by example in so many different ways."
On the year, the Cincinnati McNicholas product registered six points on two goals and two assists to tie for second on the team in points and goals. Playing nearly 1,500 minutes and appearing in the Starting XI in 18 of the team's 19 matches, Gorman posted one goal and one assist at Lipscomb to help spark the Bearcats to a run of 3-0-1 after opening the year 1-5-0. She also scored an insurance goal in a 2-0 win at Temple while assisting on the game-winning goal Sydney Goins tallied to give the Bearcats the first-ever win at SMU.
It's #AwardSZN and three #Bearcats have collected four awards!
— Cincinnati W-Soccer (@GoBearcatsWSOC) November 5, 2019
First, congratulations to freshman Han Tang for earning a spot on the @American_WSoc All-Rookie Team!#CultureofExcellence pic.twitter.com/oGnrw7Wlwo
// FAR AWAY FRESHMAN
Tang, a native of Chengdu, China, led the Bearcats in scoring her freshman season as she tallied 10 points on a team-high five goals. She opened her scoring account at Missouri to stake the Bearcats to a 1-0 lead. Then, at Lipscomb, she scored her first collegiate brace as she netted just 2:44 into the match for a 1-0 lead before converting a spot kick at 65:16 to net her first game-winning goal as UC came from behind for a 3-2 win to start a 3-0-1 run in its next four after starting the year 1-5-0.
"I'm so pleased for Tang," Stafford said. "As you can imagine, this transition has been incredibly challenging in so many different ways. I can't imagine what it must be like to be alone at 18, 12,000+ miles away from home, in a country speaking a foreign language. It was always about helping Tang settle in and getting comfortable with the culture and experience with playing Division I collegiate soccer. You have to give her teammates (and specifically her roommates) a lot of credit for playing a huge part in that. Tang's soccer IQ, movement and technical ability really shone through at times. As we continue to see Tang settle in to life in college, we're excited about seeing her grow with the program."
Tang's last two goals also came in the same match for her second collegiate brace as both goals came just 4:19 apart in an eventual 4-2 win over visiting Tulsa. In that brace, she scored at 13:56 and 18:15 to give UC a 2-0 lead less than 20 minutes into the match and sent the Bearcats on their way to a 3-1-0 start in league play after posting a 1-6-2 record the previous year. With both braces, the AAC took notice and selected her to its weekly Honor Roll, her first two awards of the year from the league before being voted to the All-Rookie squad.
// NEXT UP
The 2019 season for the Bearcats has come to a close with the team finishing 7-9-3 overall and 5-3-1 in the AAC to finish fourth. UC posted an 11-point improvement in league play this year, only the fourth double-digit improvement in AAC history, and finished six spots ahead of their 2018 placement. Check back to GoBearcats.com in February for the team's Spring exhibition slate.
// 2019 AAC POST-SEASON AWARDS
AAC First Team All-Conference
Ashley Barron • D • Freshman
Sophie Gorman • MF • Junior
AAC All-Rookie Team
Ashley Barron • D
Han Tang • F
// CINCINNATI'S ALL-TIME AAC AWARDS (22)
AAC First Team All-Conference (4)
2019 • Ashley Barron & Sophie Gorman
2017 • Vanessa Gilles
2016 • Vanessa Gilles
AAC Second Team All-Conference (7)
2018 • Jill Vetere
2017 • Sophie Gorman
2016 • Julie Gavorski
2015 • Vanessa Gilles & Danielle Rotheram
2014 • Katy Couperus
2013 • Emily Elsbrock
AAC All-Rookie Team (11)
2019 • Ashley Barron & Han Tang
2018 • Vanessa DiNardo
2017 • Sophie Gorman & Kiki Lowell
2016 • Bri Costigan
2015 • Jordan Cotleur
2014 • Julie Gavorski & Vanessa Gilles
2013 • Katy Couperus & Natalie Smith