Myles, Ellis, Czipf & Brennan named AUS women's soccer all-stars

2018 AUS Women's Soccer Major Award Winners and All-Stars Announced
Cape Breton's Ciera Disipio named AUS MVP for second consecutive season

(HALIFAX, N.S.) Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce the 2018 women's soccer all-stars and major award winners as selected by the conference's 10 head coaches following regular season play.

Fourth-year Cape Breton Capers midfielder Ciera Disipio has been named the AUS most valuable player for the second straight season.

The AUS rookie of the year is Erin Freeman (Halifax, N.S.) from the Cape Breton Capers.

Sarah Charnock, a fourth-year Axewomen goalkeeper from Newmarket, Ont., is this year's recipient of the AUS student-athlete community service award.

And in his ninth season at the helm of the Acadia program, Amit Batra has been selected by his peers as the AUS coach of the year for the second time in his career.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Ciera Disipio, Cape Breton University

Ciera Disipio, a fourth-year midfielder with the U SPORTS no. 2-ranked Cape Breton Capers, has been named the 2018 AUS women's soccer most valuable player. This is her second consecutive season winning the conference's top honour.

A community studies student from Ottawa, Ont., Disipio led the defending AUS champion Capers to a 10-1-1 record to secure first place in the conference standings and a first round playoffs bye through to this weekend's championship semifinal round.

Disipio led the conference in goals, with 10, and in points, with 15.

She was also named to the 2018 AUS first team all-star squad for the second consecutive season today.

In her fourth year of eligibility, Disipio has accumulated 30 career regular season goals, and 48 points.

She was named a U SPORTS first team all-Canadian last season. She also earned the AUS rookie of the year honour in her freshman season in 2015.

Disipio is the fifth player from a Capers squad to be named the conference's most valuable player and the second Cape Breton player to win the honour in back-to-back seasons.

Previous Cape Breton winners have included Karolyne Blain (2013 and 2014), Kristina Weatherbie (2007), Natalie Cullen (2003), and Sarah Drake (2002).

Only two Atlantic conference athletes have taken home the Chantal Navert Memorial Award as U SPORTS (formerly CIS) player of the year. UPEI's Amy Connolly took home the honour in 2005 and Cape Breton's Sarah Drake was the 2002 recipient.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Erin Freeman, Cape Breton Capers

Cape Breton Capers forward/midfielder Erin Freeman has been chosen by the coaches as the 2018 Atlantic University Sport rookie of the year.

A business student from Halifax, N.S., she started in all 12 regular season games in her freshman season.

Freeman tallied three goals and a league-leading six assists for nine points this season. She helped lead the Capers to a 10-1-1 record and a first-place finish in the conference standings.

She becomes the ninth player from a Cape Breton team to take home the AUS rookie of the year honours, and the first since 2015 when current teammate and MVP Ciera Disipio won the award in her freshman season.

Freeman will now represent the Atlantic conference as the AUS nominee for the U SPORTS rookie of the year award.

The only AUS players to be honoured as the national rookie of the year are Cape Breton's Michelle Desjardins in 2000 and Dalhousie's Mary-Beth Bowie in 1997.

STUDENT-ATHLETE COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD: Sarah Charnock, Acadia Axewomen

Fourth-year goalkeeper Sarah Charnock from the Acadia Axewomen is the 2018 recipient of the AUS women's soccer student-athlete community service award.

This is the fifth time a member of an Acadia team has earned the honour since the award's inception in 2006.

A kinesiology student from Newmarket, Ont., Charnock has had success on the soccer field and in the classroom, while also volunteering her time in the community.

She played in seven games for the Axewomen this season, posting four shutouts, a goals against average of 0.57 and a save percentage of .852. She was named an AUS second team all-star for her efforts this season.

Charnock has also been successful in the classroom, boasting a 4.0 GPA and being named a U SPORTS academic all-Canadian in each of her first three seasons.

She is heavily involved in the community, volunteering her time with such initiatives as Camp Brigadoon—a camp for children and youth living with health conditions and other life challenges, as well as Camp Triumph—a camp for children and youth whose families are affected by chronic illness or disability.

Charnock volunteers as a tour leader with Girls On Board, a non-profit organization which offers paddle boarding trips for teens and girls aimed at empowering tomorrow's female leaders by building their confidence. She has also volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters since 2015.

The long list of other initiatives and organizations she lends her time to includes Acadia's S.M.I.L.E. program, CNIB Kentville, Acadia's Cardiac Rehab program, Enactus Acadia, and many more.

Charnock also serves as the VP of Communications for the Acadia Players' Association and President of Acadia's Kinesiology Society.

She is now the AUS nominee for the national student-athlete community service award.

An Atlantic conference student-athlete has received the national honour six times, with Memorial's Jessie Noseworthy earning the honour most recently in 2015. Other Atlantic conference winners include Caoimhe MacParland (2014), Alana Fairfax (2012), Cathleen Bleakney (2011), Samantha Hanford (2010), and Ally Read (2006).

COACH OF THE YEAR: Amit Batra, Acadia Axewomen

Amit Batra, head coach of the U SPORTS no. 8-ranked Acadia Axewomen, has been chosen by his peers as the 2018 AUS coach of the year.

Currently in his ninth season at the helm of the Axewomen program, this is his second time earning the honour. When he was first named AUS coach of the year in 2015, it marked the first time an Acadia head coach had won the honour in women's soccer since 1994.

This season, Batra led the Axewomen to a 10-1-1 regular season record, a second-place finish in the conference standings, and a first-round playoffs bye through to this weekend's championship semifinal round.

Acadia led the conference in shutouts with nine on the season and finished with a league-leading goals against average of 0.33.

Heading into the upcoming championship, Coach Batra and the Axewomen look to become the first Acadia team to capture an AUS women's soccer title since 1996.

Batra now becomes the AUS nominee for the U SPORTS coach of the year award. Cape Breton's Ness Timmons is most recent coach from the Atlantic conference to win the honour. He was named U SPORTS coach of the year last season.

FIRST AND SECOND TEAM ALL-STARS

The 2018 AUS women's soccer first and second team all-stars are as follows:

First Team All-Stars:
Keeper - Sydney Walsh, Memorial (2^nd year – St. John's, N.L.)
Defender - Lauren Jodrey, Acadia (1^st year – Bedford, N.S.)
Defender - Taylor Goodwin, Dalhousie (5^th year – Hammonds Plains, N.S.)
Defender - Becky Hanna, Cape Breton (5^th year – Howie Centre, N.S.)
Midfield - Ciera Disipio, Cape Breton (4^th year – Ottawa, Ont.)
Midfield - Mercy Myles, StFX (3^rd year – Accra, Ghana)
Midfield - Maya Venkataraman, Dalhousie (3^rd year, Summerland, B.C.)
Midfield - Teri Murphy, Memorial (5^th year – St. John's, N.L.)
Striker - Erin Freeman, Cape Breton (1^st year – Halifax, N.S.)
Striker - Jenna Boudreau, Acadia (4^th – Halifax, N.S.)
Striker - Kelsey Ellis, StFX (4^th year – Ottawa, Ont.)           

Second Team All-Stars:
Keeper - Sarah Charnock, Acadia (4^th year – Newmarket, Ont.)
Defender - Keisha Younge, Memorial (5^th year – Mount Pearl, N.L.)
Defender - Kennedy Curry, Cape Breton (3^rd year – Coldbrook, N.S.)
Defender - Olivia Czipf, StFX (5^th year – Thunder Bay, Ont.)
Defender - Danielle Younker, UPEI (3^rd year – Charlottetown, P.E.I.)
Midfield - Alexandra Scovil, Acadia (4^th year – Hubley, N.S.)
Midfield - Chloe Brennan, StFX (5^th year – Brookside, N.S.)
Midfield - Stephanie Dyck, Dalhousie (4^th year – Mississauga, Ont.)
Midfield - Amelia Carlini, Cape Breton (2^nd year – Ottawa, Ont.)
Striker - Anelise Karakostas, Saint Mary's (1^st year – Victoria, B.C.)
Striker - Catherine Dupuis, Moncton (2^nd year – St-Mathias, Que.)

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The 2018 Subway AUS Soccer Championships will be hosted by Cape Breton University in Sydney, N.S. Nov. 1 to 4.     

The championship schedule is as follows:

Thursday, Nov. 1
Women's Quarterfinal #1: Memorial (6^th) vs. Dalhousie (3^rd), 11:30 a.m.
Women's Quarterfinal #2: Saint Mary's (5^th) vs. StFX (4^th), 2 p.m.
Men's Quarterfinal #1: Moncton (6^th) vs. UNB (3^rd), 4:30 p.m.
Men's Quarterfinal #2: Acadia (5^th) vs. Dalhousie (4^th), 7 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 2
Women's Semifinal #1: Highest Remaining Seed vs. Acadia (2^nd), 11:30 a.m.
Women's Semifinal #2: Lowest Remaining Seed vs. Cape Breton (1^st), 2 p.m.
Men's Semifinal #1: Lowest Remaining Seed vs. Cape Breton (1^st), 4:30 p.m.
Men's Semifinal #2: Highest Remaining Seed vs. StFX (2^nd), 7 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 4
Women's Championship Game: Semifinal #1 Winner vs. Semifinal #2 Winner, 1 p.m.
Men's Championship Game: Semifinal #1 Winner vs. Semifinal #2 Winner, 4 p.m.

*Note: All games of the championship will be available via webcast, live at www.AUStv.ca.

Final AUS women's soccer standings:
http://atlanticuniversitysport.com/sports/wsoc/2018-19/standings

The Atlantic University Sport conference receives one berth at the 2018 U SPORTS women's soccer championship being hosted by the University of Ottawa Nov. 8 to 11. The berth will be awarded to the AUS championship winner.   

For more information on the national women's soccer championship, please visit the official website at: https://usports.ca/en/championships/soccer/f.

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