Bowling Green State University Athletics
MAC Champions Hand Out Awards at Banquet
April 02, 2005 | Women's Soccer
April 2, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Senior Kristy Coppes and juniors Leah Eggleton and Ali Shingler each earned most valuable player awards as the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team held its annual banquet Friday evening (April 1). Head coach Andy Richards guided the 2004 version of the Falcons to a Mid-American Conference Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Championships in November.
Junior Julie Trundle was named the winner of the "Fighting Falcon" award, while Eggleton earned the team's "Hustle" award for the second consecutive season. Freshman Gina Rossi was named the Falcons' most improved player.
The "Fighting Falcon" award winner is selected by the BGSU coaching staff, while the other five awards are the result of voting by the team members.
Coppes (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) was named the Falcons' MVP on offense. She continued her career-long assault on the BGSU record books in 2004, finishing the season with 18 goals and 38 points, the MAC's best in both categories. Coppes' total of 18 goals shattered the old school single-season record by six, and her point total was nine better than the previous mark.
The first player in BGSU history to reach the 50-goal plateau for a career, Coppes finished third in MAC history with 50 goals and fifth in league annals with 111 total points. She ends her BG career 32 goals and 46 points ahead of any other player in school history. Coppes opened her senior season by shattering the BGSU and MAC records with six goals in a game, a win over Duquesne. Late in the season, she became the first Falcon ever to score a hat trick in a MAC Tournament contest, finding the back of the net three times in the league tourney semifinal win over Western Michigan. Coppes earned All-MAC Second-Team honors, and also was named to the MAC's All-Tournament Team.
Shingler (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City) was the team's MVP on defense after starting 21 matches on the season and posting a goals-against average of 1.45 and 111 saves. She had five shutouts in 2004 and now has nine in her career, ranking second on each of those BGSU lists. Shingler's final shutout of the year came in the championship of the MAC Tournament, 2-0 over Central Michigan.
Her saves total included 28 in the three league tournament matches. Shingler set a career high with 10 saves in the quarterfinal win at top-seeded Kent State, then topped that with an 11-save performance in the championship win over CMU. Shingler made nine more saves in the NCAA first-round match at Ohio State.
Shingler now has four career wins and two career shutouts in the MAC Tournament, both school records. She has a 4-1-1 mark in the league tourney. Shingler was named to the Soccer Buzz National Team of the Week after her performance in the MAC Tournament.
Eggleton (Fairfield, Ohio/Fairfield) was named the Falcons' MVP in the midfield, and also picked up the team's "Hustle" award for the second consecutive season. The latter award is given to the player who shows a consistent enthusiasm for the game and a tremendous work ethic, both at practice and during games. Eggleton played in 20 of the Falcons' 24 matches on the season. Despite missing four matches due to injury, the junior led the team and tied the school single-season record with nine assists on the year.
Eight of Eggleton's assists came in MAC action, helping her earn All-MAC Second-Team honors. She now has a total of 16 career assists, placing her in a tie for fourth place on the school's career list. She had a two-assist game at Eastern Michigan in late September, beginning a four-match assist streak, and her final assist of the season came on the Falcons' second goal in the league tournament championship.
Trundle (Medina, Ohio/Medina), a junior, was the recipient of the "Fighting Falcon" award. The award is given to a team member who, through words and actions, most accurately reflects the programs philosophy of `Today I gave all that I have, for everything I left behind is gone forever.' Trundle started 23 matches on the season, and tied for third on the team with 10 points in 2004. Eight of those points came on assists, ranking her second behind Eggleton in that category.
Trundle had eight of her points over the last eight matches, including assists on both BGSU goals in the 2-1 league tournament quarterfinal win at Kent State. That multi-assist match was her second of the season and the fifth of her career. Trundle also had an assist in the championship-match win over CMU, and now has 23 career assists to move into a tie for second place in school history. She is just two away from equaling the school record.
Trundle is the first Falcon to pick up at least seven assists in each of three different seasons. She has tied the school record with eight match-winning assists.
Rossi (Powell, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) picked up the Most Improved Player award. She saw action in 20 matches, earning eight starts along the way. Rossi finished the year with nine points on three goals and three assists. The three goals included the opening goal, which proved to be the match winner, in the MAC Tournament's championship contest vs. CMU. Rossi also found the back of the net in back-to-back league wins over Akron and Miami, adding an assist in the UA match. Her other two assists came vs. Marshall and Cleveland State, and her point total led all BG freshmen on the season.
In addition to handing out the aforementioned awards, the Falcons also handed out some hardware, as the team members received their MAC Championship rings. Additionally, the program recognized the team's seven seniors - Jenny Berlovan, Kristy Coppes, Jenifer Kernahan, Kylene Newell, Katie Piening, Nikki Pucillo and 2004 team captain Beth Rieman
BGSU finished the 2004 season with an overall record of 10-12-2, including a 5-5-2 mark in MAC play. The Falcons of fifth-year head coach Richards and assistants Ashlee Orr and Eric Golz, seeded eighth for the league tournament, won the title and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time in school history. BGSU's MAC Tournament championship-game appearance was the team's third in Richards' five years.
BGSU WOMEN'S SOCCER - 2004 AWARDS
