ERIE, Pa. – Eight members of the Penn State Behrend women's soccer team were selected to the All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Team and head coach Patrick O'Driscoll was named Co-Coach of the Year, announced on Tuesday.
Senior Valerie Wagner (Pittsburgh, PA/Montour), junior Rachel Mueller (Shaler, PA/Shaler) and freshman midfielder Melissa Huff (Centre, PA/Central Valley) received first-team honors.
Senior Danielle Pelensky (Harborcreek, PA/Harborcreek), sophomore Madelynn Monte (Beaver, PA/Beaver), sophomore Shelby Lloyd (Beaver, PA/Beaver) and freshman Taylor Troyan (Butler, PA/Butler) captured second-team accolades, while Julia Schroeck (Fairview, PA/Fairview) was chosen as an honorable mention.
Wagner is making her fourth straight appearance on the all-conference team, earning her third first-team honors in addition to being named Offensive Player of the Year last season. The midfielder leads the team in points with 25, scoring eight goals and dishing out nine assists. Wagner is one assist away from tying the program's single season assist record. She either scored a goal or had an assist in 10 out of the 20 games. Wagner's three goals and one assist in the win over Franciscan was her best performance this season.
Mueller appears on the first team for her inaugural All-AMCC nod. The defender has led the Lions to eight shut-out wins and is one of six players to start all 20 games. Mueller also tallied her second goal of her career in a 6-1 win over Hilbert.
Huff, the current AMCC Offensive Player of the Week, has been instrumental in her freshman campaign for the Lions. She has scored four goals and dished out for assists to rank third on the team in points with 12. Huff has tallied two game-winning goals, including the winner in the AMCC Championship game.
Monte, Pelensky, Lloyd and Troyan are notching their first AMCC All-Conference honors on the second team. Monte, Lloyd and Troyan join Mueller that makes up the defensive force in the team's 1.34 goals-against average. The team has only given up 27 goals in 20 games and posted eight shutouts. Monte has started every game in the last two seasons, while Lloyd has started in all but one. Troyan has started every game in goal, posting 72 stops for a .727 save percentage and a 1.37 goals-against average. She has been named AMCC Defensive Player of the Week twice, including ECAC South Player of the Week.
Schroeck, a versatile player, earned a spot on the third team after being named to the first team a year ago. The forward leads the team with nine goals, seven of them coming in conference games and three being game winners. Schroeck also has two assists for a total of 20 points and has started in every game. She netted a career-high four goals in the win over Hilbert.
The Lions won their second straight AMCC Championship and earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Behrend will face No. 12 William Smith in first-round action on Saturday at 11 a.m. in Geneva, NY.
