Sarah Huffman, Steve Swanson Named State Player, Coach of the Year
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Dec. 20, 2004
CHARLOTTESVILLE – The Virginia Sports Information Directors Association (VaSID) announced that Virginia third year midfielder Sarah Huffman (Flower Mound, Texas.) was named the Virginia Women’s Soccer Player of the Year and Virginia Head Coach Steve Swanson was named Virginia Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year. Huffman was also a first-team All-State selection, as the Cavaliers dominated the teams with eight selections.
Huffman becomes the third Cavalier in the past four years to be named State Player of the Year. A second team NSCAA All-American, Huffman was also the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and Co-MVP of the ACC Tournament. On the season, she had four goals and a school record 14 assists. She is a finalist for Soccer Buzz Magazine’s National Player of the Year award.
Huffman is joined on the All-State first team by four teammates. Fellow midfielder Kelly Hammond (Bowie, Md.), the 2003 State Player of the Year, earned first-team honors for the second consecutive year. In 2004, Hammond had 12 goals and four assists. Forward Lindsay Gusick (Livonia, Mich.) was named first-team All-State for the second time in her career after leading the Cavaliers in scoring with 16 goals and seven assists for 39 points, the second highest point total in school history. Defender Gillian Hatch (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) was named to the first-team for the second consecutive year. She anchored a Cavalier defense that set school records of 14 shutouts and just 13 goals allowed. Goalkeeper Christina de Vries (Westlake Village, Calif.) was named first-team All-State in her first season as the starter for the Cavaliers. This season, she set school records with 13 shutouts and a 0.58 goals against average.
Three Cavaliers were named second-team All-State. Midfielder Shannon Foley (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) earned second-team honors for the second consecutive season. She was second on the team in scoring with nine goals and 13 assists in 2004. Fellow midfielder Noelle Keselica (Gaithersburg, Md.) was honored after recording three goals and ten assists this season. Defender Jamie Fabrizio (Carmel, Ind.) earned all-state recognition as a part of the Cavaliers’ record-setting defensive unit while adding two goals offensively.
Swanson was named State Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year and the third time in the past four seasons. In 2004, he led the Cavaliers to a 17-3-2 record and the school’s first ACC Championship. Virginia ended the season with a No. 2 national ranking by Soccer America.
Huffman, Hammond, de Vries, Foley, and Keselica are among the 16 players on this year’s roster with eligibility remaining for next year.