CORVALLIS, Ore. – The 2021 Cascade Collegiate Conference Women’s Soccer postseason awards were announced Monday by the conference office.
Corban University’s Maria-Frances Serrant was named the WVT Laboratory Offensive Player of the Year, while Oregon Tech’s Alyx Burkhartzmeyer grabbed the WVT Laboratory Defensive Player of the Year. Northwest University’s Claire Jo Diede was selected the Newcomer of the Year and OIT’s Casey Tate was named the Coach of the Year. Multnomah University earned the Les Schwab Team Sportsmanship Award.
Tate, who took over the reins of the Owl program in March 2020, led Oregon Tech to its first CCC regular-season title under Tate after winning the West Division in the spring. The Owls picked up the top spot in the CCC Women’s Soccer Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank, and the conference’s first automatic qualifier to the NAIA National Tournament.
Burkhartzmeyer, a sophomore goalkeeper from West Linn, Ore., helped the Owls post the best goals against average in the CCC, boasting a 0.39 goals against average herself. She grabbed six shutouts (second in conference, 19
th nationally) on the year and heads into postseason with a .868 save percentage in tow (third in the CCC, 18
th in the NAIA).
Serrant, a freshman midfielder from Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, was an offensive threat for the Warriors, helping Corban secure a spot in the conference tournament. She leads the CCC in points per game (1.93) with 29 on the year. Serrant has scored 13 goals (second in the CCC, 47
th in the NAIA) and assisted three times. Of her 13 goals, five have proven to be game-winners for the Warriors, which ranks 15
th nationally.
Diede, a junior from Everett, Wash., transferred to the Eagles from NCAA Division I University of Hawaii and helped NU secure a spot in the postseason tournament. She has scored six times this year (10
th in the CCC) and assisted six times (second in the CCC).
The regular-season champs saw eight Owls earn all-conference, with four earning spots on the first team.
The full list of the 2021 CCC All-Conference team can be found
here.