CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Coastal Carolina senior forward Ashleigh Gunning (Baton Rouge, La.) and VMI head coach Bryan Williams have been voted the 2008 Big South Conference Women’s Soccer Player of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively, by the League’s head coaches, it was announced Wednesday evening at the League’s annual awards banquet at the Radisson Hotel in High Point, N.C.  In addition, VMI forward Olivia Moore (Powhatan, Va.) was selected as Freshman of the Year, while Coastal Carolina’s Emily McColl (Wellington, New Zealand) was voted Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the Conference’s Sports Information Directors.

Gunning, who missed five games this season due to injury, repeats as Player of the Year after scoring team-highs of eight goals and 17 points in helping the Chanticleers win their second consecutive regular-season title.   She scored a League-high four game-winning goals this season, including three in Big South play.  She had both goals in a 2-1 win over Gardner-Webb on Sept. 27, and also had game-winning scores over UNC Asheville and VMI.  Gunning was second in the Big South in points per game (1.31), third in goals (8), second in goals per game (0.62) and also was among the leaders in points scored.  In Big South action, Gunning was tops in the League with seven goals and 14 points.  This season, she also played sweeper due to injuries in the Coastal Carolina backfield.  Gunning received five first-place votes and 12 points in the voting to become just the second women’s soccer player in Big South history to be named Player of the Year twice, joining Radford’s Nikki Porter (2002, 2003).  Charleston Southern’s Emma Mattsson was second in the voting with three first-place votes and nine points.

Williams directed VMI to a remarkable turnaround in 2008, as the Keydets tied for second-place in the regular-season standings after being predicted to finish last.  VMI finished the Conference season with a 5-3-1 record and was 9-9-1 overall.  Entering the 2008 campaign, the Keydets had gone a combined 2-29 in League games since its first full Big South season in 2004, and finished last each of the past four seasons.  Williams, in his fourth year at the helm, led the Keydets to a four-game improvement in Big South games, which is tied for the top single-season turnaround in Conference history.  His squad posted its first-ever wins over five different programs, and notched a school-record six shutouts, including three against League opponents, in addition to three consecutive shutouts in late September.  Williams tallied six first-place votes and 14 points, finishing ahead of Coastal Carolina head coach Rohan Naraine (three first-place votes and eight points).

Moore led the Big South in goals (12) and points (26) during the regular-season and was the only Big South player with two hat tricks this season.  She has already posted the second-most goals and points by a Keydet freshman, in addition to starting every game and playing the second-most minutes on the squad.  Moore tied a school record with points in four-straight games, and notched back-to-back game-winning goals against Campbell and South Carolina State.  She scored a goal in eight of her 19 games, including four League contests.  Moore led the team in points in Conference play by scoring a goal vs. Liberty, Charleston Southern, Radford and Presbyterian.  She received nine first-place votes and 18 points, and is VMI’s second Freshman of the Year recipient in three years.  Radford goalie Lisa Lubke finished second in the voting with one first-place vote and five points.

McColl has started all 18 games for the Chanticleers this season.  She is third on the team with six goals and 14 points.  She had game-winning goals against Wofford, The Citadel and Radford, and scored the first goal in the 2-1 win over East Carolina.  McColl, who participated in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics for Team New Zealand, was recently named an ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District First-Team selection and is now a candidate for Academic All-America honors.  She also was a candidate for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.  McColl received five first-place votes and 85 points to finish ahead of fellow Academic All-District honoree Laura Eldridge of High Point.

Also announced at the banquet were the First- and Second-Team All-Conference selections as well as the All-Freshman Team and the annual All-Academic Team.  The awards banquet serves as the kickoff for the 2008 Women’s Soccer Championship.  The quarterfinals begin Thursday at the Vert Soccer Stadium on the campus of High Point University, with four games scheduled throughout the day.  The semifinals will be played Friday beginning at 4:30pm, while the title match is slated for Sunday afternoon at 2:00pm ET.

2008 BIG SOUTH CONFERENCE WOMEN’S SOCCER ALL-CONFERENCE AND AWARD WINNERS

First-team All-Conference
Ashleigh Gunning, F, Coastal Carolina
Caitlyn Roan, D, Radford
Emily McColl, MF, Coastal Carolina
Emma Mattsson, F, Charleston Southern
Laura Eldridge, MF, High Point
Audrey Falconi, D, VMI
Olivia Moore, F, VMI
Rachel Lamb, D, Presbyterian
McKenzie Vergara, MF, Radford
Angie Harvey, MF, Gardner-Webb
Robyn Busha, MF/F, UNC Asheville
Amy Oberlin, MF, Liberty
Lisa Lubke, GK, Radford

Second-team All-Conference
Sarah McPartlan, D, Coastal Carolina
Brittany Bolick, D, Charleston Southern
Silvia Betancourt, F, Liberty
Caitlin Wesnesky, MF, Charleston Southern
Brianna Murphy, F, Charleston Southern
Renee Hitchcock, F, High Point
McKenna Stockhausen, MF/F, UNC Asheville
Maegen Hellberg, D, Coastal Carolina
Ashley Johnson, F, Radford
Anna Tupy, MF, Coastal Carolina
Chelsea White, MF, Winthrop
Celine Ziobro, D, VMI (tie)
Sara Rager, F, High Point (tie)
Dimitra Poulos, GK, Winthrop

All-Freshman Team
Olivia Moore, F, VMI
Lisa Lubke GK, Radford
Taylor Ray, MF, High Point
Silvia Betancourt, F, Liberty
Casey Bolduc, D, Charleston Southern
Ashley Johnson, F, Radford
Marissa Terry, D, Coastal Carolina
Megan Tremblay, MF, Gardner-Webb
Chelsea Tidwell, MF, Winthrop
Mary Kate Tucker, D, UNC Asheville
Sarah Strand, MF, VMI

Academic All-Conference
Emma Mattsson, Sr., Charleston Southern
Emily McColl, Sr., Coastal Carolina
Angie Harvey, Sr., Gardner-Webb
Laura Eldridge, Jr., High Point
Amy Oberlin, Sr., Liberty
Rachel Lamb, Jr., Presbyterian
Jill Boyer, Jr., Radford
Juliana Duncan, Sr., UNC Asheville
Audrey Falconi, Jr., VMI
Tricia Leigh Vensel, Winthrop

Player of the Year
Ashleigh Gunning, MF, Coastal Carolina

Freshman of the Year
Olivia Moore, F, VMI

Coach of the Year
Bryan Williams, VMI

Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Emily McColl, Coastal Carolina