Huffman, Swanson Repeat as State Player, Coach of the Year
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Dec. 22, 2005
CHARLOTTESVILLE – Virginia fourth-year midfielder Sarah Huffman (Flower Mound, Texas) was named State Player of the Year for the second consecutive year and Cavalier head coach Steve Swanson was named State Coach of the Year for the third consecutive year as the Virginia Sports Information Directors All-State women’s soccer team was announced Thursday. The Cavaliers led all schools with eight selections, including five on the first team.
Huffman repeated as State Player of the Year and earned first team All-State honors for the third consecutive season. This season, Huffman led the Cavaliers in assists with eight while also scoring four goals. She ended her Cavalier career with 28 career assists, the second most in school history. She has already been named a NSCAA Third Team All-American, a Soccer America MVP, and a Hermann Trophy Semifinalist this season. She was named one of 15 finalists for SoccerBuzz’s National Player of the Year Award last month.
Joining Huffman on the All-State first team is fourth-year midfielder Noelle Keselica (Gaithersburg, Md.), third-year defender Becky Sauerbrunn (St. Louis, Mo.), third-year goalkeeper Christina de Vries (Westlake Village, Calif.) and first-year forward Jess Rostedt (Kent, Ohio). Fourth-year midfielder Kelly Hammond (Bowie, Md.), second-year midfielder Jen Redmond (Morristown, N.J.) and first-year defender Nikki Krzysik (Clifton, N.J.) were named to the All-State second team.
Keselica earns All-State honors for the second time after being named to the second team last season. During her senior season, she set career highs with nine goals and 24 points. Her six assists this season gave her 26 for her career, fourth most in school history. She was named a third-team NSCAA All-American earlier this month.
Sauerbrunn earns first team All-State honors for the second time in her career, as she was also honored as a freshman in 2003. This season, Sauerbrunn anchored a Cavalier defense that tied the school record of 14 shutouts and allowed just 7.1 shots per game. She played every minute of the season while offensively contributing one goal and two assists. She was named first team All-Mid Atlantic Region by both the NSCAA and SoccerBuzz.
In goal, de Vries earns first team All-State honors for the second consecutive season. She started all but one game in goal for the Cavaliers this season, and posted 10 shutouts. Her six shutouts and 0.43 goals against average in ACC games led the conference.
Rostedt was the only freshman to be named first-team All-State. The 2005 ACC Freshman of the Year and SoccerBuzz Mid Atlantic Region Freshman of the Year led the Cavaliers in scoring with 29 points on 12 goals and five assists this season. Her 29 points was the third most by a first-year in school history. She is a first-team Soccer America Freshman All-American and last month, she was named as one of 15 finalists for SoccerBuzz’s National Freshman of the Year Award.
Hammond earns All-State honors for the third time in her career after being a first-team selection in each of the past two seasons. This season, she was third on the team in scoring with 16 points (6 goals, 4 assists) despite missing nine games due to injury.
Redmond earns All-State honors in her first collegiate season. She had three goals and five assists this season, after missing last season to play with the United States U-19 National Team. She was also named to the ACC All-Tournament Team.
Krzysik earned All-State honors after starting every game of her rookie season in the Cavalier defense. She was third on the team with 2,130 minutes played this season, while tallying one assist. She was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team and to the SoccerBuzz All-Mid Atlantic Third Team and All-Freshman Team.
Swanson was named State Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season and fourth time in the past five years. In 2005, he led the Cavaliers to an 18-6-1 record, tying the school record for wins in a season. The Cavaliers reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in school history and ended the season with a No. 6 National Ranking. Virginia set a school record with eight ACC wins this season and tied the school record for shutouts with 14 (set last season).
Sauerbrunn, de Vries, Rostedt, Redmond, and Krzysik are among the 19 players on this season’s roster with eligibility remaining for next season.