2017 All-GLIAC Women's Soccer Awards Unveiled

2017 GLIAC WOMEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

BAY CITY, Mich. – The 2017 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Women's Soccer awards have been announced after voting conducted by the league's coaches. 

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Grand Valley State senior Gabriella Mencotti, the reigning National Player of the Year, scored 21 goals in the regular season to lead the conference in the statistic as well as total points (48). Mencotti was named GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week for the sixth week of the season, when she had two of her three consecutive hat-tricks. Mencotti had 11 goals in a three-game stretch and earned national recognition as the United Soccer Coaches Division II Player of the Week. The senior forward also held the conference lead in shots, shots on goal and game-winning goals while leading the team to a 13^th straight regular season GLIAC championship. Mencotti is the third straight Laker, and tenth overall, to win the league's Offensive Player of the Year.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Grand Valley State senior Dani Johnson, was a key fixture in a defense that posted 13 shutouts in the regular season, including a stretch of ten straight matches. Eight of those shutouts came in conference play, with the Lakers holding GLIAC opponents off the board until the 70' of their final conference match of the year. Johnson earned GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week for the sixth week of the season when her strong tackling and ball skills helped the Lakers hold their opponents Ashland and Tiffin to a combined one shot on goal. The defensive midfielder had a pair of assists on the season for Grand Valley State, taking 16 shots. Johnson extends the Grand Valley State streak to 11 straight years with a Laker winning the conference's Defensive Player of the Year award.

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Like most freshman, Grand Valley State's Ava Cook started slow, but quickly found her stride to become a main component of the Lakers offensive attack in her freshman season. Cook didn't have a point through three matches to start the year, but she broke out with a goal and assist in 2-0 against No. 10 Minnesota State. That started a stretch of three straight matches with a goal and ten points for the Battle Creek, Michigan native over a five-match span. Cook tied for the GLIAC-high with seven assists while tallying a fifth-best nine goals and fourth-ranked 25 points. She had a five-match goal-scoring streak in a 12-day stretch in October. Cook is the first Laker since 2010 (Ashley Botts) to take home GLIAC Freshman of the Year honors.

GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
Ferris State sophomore goalkeeper Grace Kraft led the Ferris State Bulldogs to a third-place finish in the GLIAC's regular-season and a potential NCAA Tournament berth. Kraft picked up six victories during the regular-season in net and allowed only 14 goals in 1,084 minutes of action for an impressive 1.16 goals against average. She recorded 71 saves and a .835 save percentage in 13 contests for FSU while pitching a shutout. Kraft allowed a single goal or less in 10 of her 13 appearances while never giving up more than two goals in a contest this fall in helping FSU to an eighth-straight GLIAC Tournament appearance and the right to host first-round action.

COACH OF THE YEAR
Grand Valley State's Jeff Hosler, in his fourth season at the helm of the Lakers, wins his first GLIAC Coach of the Year award. This is the seventh time a Lakers skipper has taken the honor. Hosler led a roster that featured six freshmen in either starting or key reserve roles to a dominating conference season, which capped off a 15-match win streak snapped in the final match of the regular season. After an 0-2 start to the year, Hosler's back line adjustments turned the Lakers into a suffocating force that went nearly 1000 minutes without conceding during their ten-match shutout streak, the fifth time in program history with at least 10 consecutive clean sheets.

A complete list of the 2017 All-GLIAC women's soccer teams is below: