CORVALLIS, Ore. – The 2022 Cascade Collegiate Conference Women’s Soccer postseason awards were announced Monday by the conference office.
Carroll College’s Blair Stapleton was named the Rize Laboratory Offensive Player of the Year, while Northwest University’s Maggie Gunning grabbed the Rize Laboratory Defensive Player of the Year. No. 24-ranked College of Idaho’s Gianna Yslava was selected the Newcomer of the Year while Coyote head coach Brian Smith was named the Coach of the Year. Bushnell University earned the Team Sportsmanship Award.
Stapleton, a senior forward/midfielder from Billings, Mont., was dominant on offense for the Saints, helping them earn the six seed in the 2022 CCC Women’s Soccer Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank. She finished the regular season ranked in multiple categories in the CCC, including: 12 goals, five game-winning goals, 67 shots, and 1.44 points per game. Stapleton, one of the captains for the Saints, scored two goals in five games and was named the CCC Rize Laboratory Women’s Soccer Player of the Week four times this year.
Gunning, a graduate student defender from North Bend, Wash., helped lead the Eagles to their third regular-season conference championship and first since 2014. With Gunning anchoring the backline, Northwest boasted the best defense in the CCC, allowing just six goals to hold a 0.35 goals against average, which leads the conference and ranks fourth in the NAIA. Gunning and the Eagles also have 11 shutouts on the year, which ranks 10
th in the NAIA, and hold opponents to a .047 shot percentage.
Yslava, a freshman defender from San Jose, has had a stellar collegiate debut so far, helping the Coyotes break into the NAIA rankings and grab the third seed in the conference tournament. She finished second in the CCC with nine goals, 22 points, 62 shots, and 1.29 points per game.
Smith led the Coyotes to finish the regular season with a 13-2-2 overall record, 9-1-2 in the CCC. The Coyotes posted a big 2-1 victory over then-ranked No. 22 Eastern Oregon University and boasted a 10-game unbeaten streak. College of Idaho has 11 shutouts on the year so far, which ranks 10
th in the NAIA, and holds opponents to a .090 shot percentage, while putting over half its shots on goal (.520 SOG%).
The regular-season champs saw eight Eagles earn all-conference, with five earning spots on the first team.
The full list of the 2022 CCC All-Conference team can be found
here.