Women's Soccer: Postseason Honors
January 08, 2003 04:23 PM | General
January 8, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University junior soccer players Chrissie Abbott and Lisa Stoia along with head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown have earned postseason honors.
Abbott, an Avon, Ohio native, was named one of Soccer America's 11 college women MVPs. The BIG EAST offensive player of the year scored 20 goals, nine of which were game-winners, in 2002. Abbott added seven assists on the year for a team-high 47 points on the season. For her efforts, she was named first-team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), just the second Mountaineer in program history to earn such honors. Abbott is also one of SoccerBuzz' 12 finalists for player of the year honors.
"This is a great reward for all the hard work and success that Abbott put forth this past season," said Izzo-Brown. "It is a tremendous honor for her to be selected to such an elite team."
A Shirley, N.Y., native, Stoia received an invitation to try out for the U-21 national team from head coach Chris Petrucelli. The NSCAA second-team All-American selection was one of 21 players invited to the camp that will take place in Chula Vista, the Olympic Soccer training facility in San Diego, Calif. If selected to the U-21 national team, Stoia will become just the second Mountaineer in women's soccer history to be a member of the national team.
"Stoia set a goal of making the national team, and she has worked extremely hard to get to this level and receive an invitation to tryout," said Izzo-Brown. "It is definitely a compliment for her to be invited to earn the chance to represent our country."
Finally, Izzo-Brown has been named Mid-Atlantic region coach of the year by the NSCAA for her efforts in leading the Mountaineers to an 18-3-1 record. The honor is her second coach of the year honor in 2002 as she was also named BIG EAST coach of the year, and her second career NSCAA regional award. The seventh-year head coach also garnered the award in 2000. Izzo-Brown is now a candidate for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's national coach of the year honor. That award will be announced at the NSCAA banquet on January 16.
