FSU's Krikorian, Berkely and Howell earn top ACC honors
After a perfect regular season, a regular-season ACC Co-Championship and the top-seed in the 2020 ACC Tournament, the Florida State soccer team earned a plethora of postseason ACC awards.
Mark Krikorian was named ACC Coach of the Year, Malia Berkely was named Defensive Player of the Year and Jaelin Howell was named Midfielder of the Year. Florida State led all schools with 10 student-athletes on the All-ACC Teams.
The Seminoles continue in the 2020 ACC Tournament on Friday with a match against No. 6 Duke at 5:30 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
The winner of the Florida State and Duke semifinal takes on the winner of North Carolina and Virginia on Sunday at noon. The match will be live on ESPNU.
MARK KRIKORIAN
Krikorian was named ACC Coach of the Year for the fifth time in his career and the first time since the 2014 season. He helped led the Seminoles to their first perfect ACC season and second unbeaten season in conference play in his 16 seasons at the helm in Tallahassee. Krikorian had one of his best teams in 16 seasons at Florida State as the Seminoles outscored their opponents 25-4 in the regular season with six shutouts in eight games. The 25 goals in eight ACC games were the most through eight ACC games in program history.
Malia Berkely
Berkely was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second season in a row. She becomes the first Seminole to repeat as the winner of any ACC postseason honor. Berkely helped anchor a Florida State defense that only allowed four goals in eight games with six shutout performances. FSU held its opponents to just 23 shots and 14 on goal in eight games during the regular season. She has started in every game this season without missing a minute. Offensively, Berkely recorded one assist this season and it came in the Seminoles first game of the season in a 5-0 win over Notre Dame. Berkely was also named First Team All-ACC for the second straight season.
Jaelin Howell
Howell has had a stellar season, culminating in an ACC Midfielder of the Year Honor. Howell helped anchor a Florida State defense from her holding midfield position that only allowed four goals in eight games with six shutout performances. FSU held its opponents to just 23 shots and 14 on goal in eight games during the regular season. She started in every game for the Seminoles this season and recorded three goals and one assist. Howell has helped direct an explosive FSU offense that leads the nation in scoring offense (3.00) and points per game (7.89). Her first goal came against Virginia Tech on a phenomenal header in the 70th minute to put FSU up 2-0. Howell then earned an assist in the Seminoles 4-3 win over No. 11 Virginia. Her second goal of the season came against No. 5 Duke with just 12 seconds remaining in the game for the game’s only goal. Howell showed her aerial presence once again in the ACC Tournament quarterfinal heading in a ball from Jenna Nighswonger to give the Noles a 1-0 lead in the 45th minute. Howell was also named First Team All-ACC for the second straight season.
Howell was also recently invited to the U.S. Women’s National Team Training Camp, one of just four collegiate players to earn the invitation.
ALL-ACC FIRST TEAM
Florida State placed three on the First Team All-ACC, including Yujie Zhao to go along with Berkely and Howell. This is the third consecutive year on the first team for Zhao. She joins Deyna Castellanos and India Trotter as the only two Seminoles to be named First Team All-ACC three times. Zhao finished the regular season tied for the team lead in points with nine coming on three goals and three assists. She earned her first two goals of the season in the season-opening 5-0 win over Notre Dame. Her third goal came against Wake Forest in FSU’s 4-0 win. Zhao had an assist in three straight games against No. 11 Virginia, No. 5 Duke and No. 3 Clemson.
ALL-ACC SECOND TEAM
The Seminoles placed three more on the All-ACC Second team including Emily Madril, Clara Robbins and Cristina Roque. After missing the last two seasons due to knee injuries, Madril has not missed a minute on the backline for the Seminoles in 2020. Madril helped anchor a Florida State defense that only allowed four goals in eight games with six shutout performances. FSU held its opponents to just 23 shots and 14 on goal in eight games during the regular season. On offense, she scored two goals from her center back position, one against Notre Dame and one against Wake Forest.
Robbins has had the best season of her career, recording nine points in nine games to tie for second on the team. Robbins recorded her first three career goals in 2020 to go along with three assists. She helped secure the Seminoles first ranked win of the season with two goals against No. 11 Virginia, including the game-winning in the 4-3 win. Her third goal of the season came in the ACC Tournament quarterfinal in FSU’s 2-0 win over Notre Dame. Robins was named ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week after her performance at Virginia.
Roque has been a rock for Florida State in goal, only allowing four goals in nine games as a freshman. She has started all nine games for the Seminoles playing in every minute but eight this season. She has recorded nine saves and six solo shutouts to go along with one combined shutout. Roque had a career day against No. 5 Duke during the last week of the regular season, recording a career-high three saves. She finished the regular season with a .51 GAA. Roque was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week after the last week of the regular season in which she shutout two top-5 teams in No. 5 Duke and No. 3 Clemson.
ALL-ACC THIRD TEAM
Jenna Nighswonger was the only Seminole on the All-ACC Third Team. She has a team-high 10 points on three goals and four assists. Her four assist are a team-high. Nighswonger grabbed her first goal in the season opener against Notre Dame and then her second and third in FSU’s 4-1 win over Pitt. She earned her first assist in FSU’s 4-0 win over Virginia Tech and then grabbed two against Wake Forest the next game.
ALL-ACC FRESHMAN TEAM
Lastly, Florida State placed three on the All-ACC Freshman Team – Roque, Jody Brown and Kaitlyn Zipay. Brown is tied for the team lead in goals with four while coming off the bench and playing in just 356 minutes in nine games. She scored a goal in her first career game in FSU’s 5-0 win against Notre Dame. Her second career goal came in FSU’s 4-0 win over Virginia Tech. Brown grabbed her first assist against Pitt, helping Florida State to a 4-1 win over the Panthers. Arguably the best game of Brown’s young career came in the regular-season finale against No. 3 Clemson. Brown led the Seminoles to a 2-0 win, scoring both goals and capping off Florida State’s perfect season.
Zipay has started in every game as a freshman, playing in 333 minutes in the forward position. She finished the regular season with one assist coming in Florida State’s 4-3 win over No. 11 Virginia.
2020 All-ACC Women's Soccer Team
Offensive Player of the Year: Emina Ekic, Louisville, Sr., M
Freshman of the Year: Lia Godfrey, Virginia, Fr., M
Coach of the Year: Mark Krikorian, Florida State
First Team All-ACC
Sophie Jones, Duke, So., M
Emina Ekic, Louisville, Sr., M,
Maycee Bell, North Carolina, So., D
Claudia Dickey, North Carolina, Jr., GK
Emily Fox, North Carolina Sr., D
Rachel Jones, North Carolina, Jr., F
Brianna Pinto, North Carolina, Jr., M
Alexa Spaanstra, Virginia, Jr., F
Second Team All-ACC
Makenna Morris, Clemson, Fr., D
Mariana Speckmaier, Clemson, Sr., F
Taylor Otto, North Carolina, Sr., M
Sammi Fisher, Notre Dame, Sr., M
Amanda West, Pitt, So., F
Lia Godfrey, Virginia, Fr., M
Rebecca Jarrett, Virginia, Jr., F
Diana Ordonez, Virginia, So., F,
Third Team All-ACC
Megan Bornkamp, Clemson, Fr., D
Hal Herschfelt, Clemson, So., M
Courtney Jones, Clemson, Jr., M
Delaney Graham, Duke, Jr., D
Taylor Mitchell, Duke, Sr., D
Jenna Nighswonger, Florida State, So., M
Gabby Kouzelos, Louisville, Sr., GK
Sam Meza, North Carolina, Fr., M
Kiki Van Zanten, Notre Dame, So., F
Emily Gray, Virginia Tech, Jr., M
Hannah Betfort, Wake Forest, Sr., D
All-Freshman Team
Megan Bornkamp, Clemson, D
Makenna Morris, Clemson, D
Jody Brown, Florida State, F
Talia Dellaperuta, North Carolina, F
Sam Meza, North Carolina, M
Lia Godfrey, Virginia, M
Samar Guidry, Virginia, D
Tori Powell, Virginia Tech, F
Sophie Faircloth, Wake Forest, D