SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Furman midfielder Stephanie DeVita was selected the Southern Conference Player of the Year and teammate Catie Moore was named the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year in voting conducted by the league’s 10 head coaches. ETSU’s Garazi Murua was tabbed the SoCon Freshman of the Year, while Samford’s Todd Yelton was named the SoCon Coach of the Year.

The SoCon’s 10 coaches voted on a pair of all-conference teams, an all-freshman team and the four individual awards. They were not allowed to vote for themselves or their own players. The all-conference first and second teams include 11 players each, voted on by position, while the all-freshman team consists of 11 players with no consideration for positions.

Furman led the way with six all-conference picks, including a league-best four first-team picks. Regular-season SoCon champion Samford and Mercer had four all-conference selections each. ETSU, Furman, Samford and Wofford had two all-freshman picks each.

DeVita, who was the SoCon Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in 2012, becomes just the second player in league history to be named player of the year twice, joining Furman great Emily Turgeon, who won the award in 2000 and 2002. DeVita is second in the SoCon this season with 16 goals and tied for third with 36 total points. The junior from Simpsonville, S.C., is the SoCon’s active career leader in goals (50) and points (117) and is in the top five in SoCon history in both categories.

Moore earned the inaugural SoCon Defensive Player of the Year award by anchoring a defense that has posted a league-best eight shutouts on the season and allowed just 17 goals in 18 matches. The senior from Greenville, S.C., has started all 16 matches in which she’s appeared this season and earned her second straight all-conference nod.

Joining DeVita and Moore on the first team were Paladin teammates Carlie Couch (forward) and India Robinson (midfield), while Jamie Alexander (forward) and Rose Hull (goalkeeper) earned spots on the second team. The sextet, along with all-freshman honorees Molly Dwyer and Rachel Shah, has helped Furman to a 13-3-2 record so far this season, including a runner-up SoCon finish at 6-1-2 in conference play.

ETSU’s Garazi Murua becomes the Bucs’ first-ever SoCon Freshman of the Year, as the league newcomers are back in the SoCon after a nine-year absence. Murua, a defender from Getxo, Spain, has started 19 matches this year and has contributed to the nation’s top-scoring team with five points on two goals and an assist. She has also helped the Bucs to five shutouts on the season.

Samford’s Yelton picked up his second SoCon Coach of the Year nod after leading the Bulldogs to their second SoCon regular-season title in the last four years (2011). Yelton guided Samford to a 13-7-0 overall mark and a 7-2-0 league finish that included wins in six of its final seven conference matches to end the regular season.

Four of Yelton’s charges earned all-conference honors, as Jermaine Seoposenwe (forward) and Anna Allen (defender) earned first-team nods and Malcanisha Kelley (forward) and Anna Maddox (goalkeeper) took second-team distinction. Maddox and classmate Virginia McNeil also earned spots on the all-freshman team.

ETSU placed three student-athletes on the first team. Hannah Short (forward) is the nation’s leading scorer with 60 points and a SoCon-record 26 goals so far on the season, while midfielder Sarah Zadrazil leads the nation in assists with 20, which ties the SoCon single-season record. Defender Jasmin Dutton is close behind with 17 assists this year.

UNCG forward Chesney White, who is second in the conference in scoring with 37 points on 15 goals and seven assists, and Mercer keeper Maggie Cropp, who leads the SoCon in goals against average (0.62), save percentage (.853) and shutouts (five), round out the first team.

Mercer led the way with three second-team selections, including Washida Blackman (forward), Lauren Gassie (midfield) and Sarah Daane (defender). The Bears led the league for much of the season and suffered their first SoCon loss on the final day of the regular season, finishing 6-1-2 and tied with Furman in the runner-up position.

UNCG had a pair of second-team selections in midfielder Rebecca Burrows and defender Georgia Brown, while Citadel midfielder Vanessa Aponte and Western Carolina defender Christina White completed the team.

Murua was joined on the all-freshman squad by ETSU teammate Paola Roversi, while Wofford had a pair of representatives in Rachel Fenner and Hannah Washko. Mady Riegel of The Citadel, Chloe Buehler of UNCG and Chandler Arrowood of Western Carolina rounded out the team.

Samford, Furman, Mercer and ETSU – the top four seeds, in order – have advanced to the semifinals of the Southern Conference Women’s Soccer Championship, which will take place at Western Carolina’s Catamount Athletic Complex in Cullowhee, N.C., on Friday, starting at 5 p.m. Both matches will appear live on the SoCon Digital Network. The championship match will take place Sunday at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

2014 Women’s Soccer All-Conference Team

Player of the Year – Stephanie DeVita, Jr., MF, Furman
Defensive Player of the Year – Catie Moore, Sr., D, Furman
Coach of the Year – Todd Yelton, Samford
Freshman of the Year – Garazi Murua, D, ETSU

First Team
F    Hannah Short, ETSU
F    Carlie Couch, Furman
F    Chesney White, UNCG
F    Jermaine Seoposenwe, Samford
MF    Sarah Zadrazil, ETSU
MF    Stephanie DeVita, Furman
MF    India Robinson, Furman
D    Jasmin Dutton, ETSU
D    Catie Moore, Furman
D    Anna Allen, Samford
GK    Maggie Cropp, Mercer

Second Team
F    Jamie Alexander, Furman
F    Washida Blackman, Mercer
F    Malcanisha Kelley, Samford
MF    Vanessa Aponte, The Citadel
MF    Lauren Gassie, Mercer
MF    Rebecca Burrows, UNCG
D    Sarah Daane, Mercer
D    Georgia Brown, UNCG
D    Christina White, Western Carolina
GK    Rose Hull, Furman
GK    Anna Maddox, Samford

All-Freshman Team
Mady Riegel, The Citadel
Garazi Murua, ETSU
Paola Roversi, ETSU
Molly Dwyer, Furman
Rachel Shah, Furman
Chloe Buehler, UNCG
Anna Maddox, Samford
Virginia McNeil, Samford
Chandler Arrowood, Western Carolina
Rachel Fenner, Wofford
Hannah Washko, Wofford