Icen Named Player of the Year; Economopoulos Coach of the Year

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Mercer women's soccer player Nicole Icen has been named the Southern Conference Player of the Year, while head coach Tony Economopoulos has been named the SoCon Coach of the Year.

Icen is the first Mercer player to earn Player of the Year honors since 1998 when Mirela Ninic was named ASun Player of the Year. Economopoulos is the second coach in program history to win the award. The only other coach was Grant Serafy during the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

Icen finished the regular season as the SoCon leader in points (23) and points per game (1.28) and tied for the conference lead in goals (10), and goals per game (0.56). The freshman from Marietta, Georgia, was named the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 3 after netting a hat trick in the Bears' 6-1 win over Davidson.

Economopoulos, who is in his eighth season as the leader of the Bears, was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. He's also the first coach from Mercer, who joined the league in 2014, to be awarded the honor. Mercer was the lone team to beat regular-season co-champions, Samford and Furman, handing each team its only loss in conference play.

Icen was joined on the first team by teammate Abigail Zoeller, a midfielder. Zoeller's 11 assists are a league best, while she also finished the regular season third in points (18) and points per game (1.06).

Bears midfielder Ciara Whitely and defender Megan Delmonico were second-team selections. Whitely sits with seven points on the season after scoring three goals and dishing out one assist from the midfield position. All of her goals resulted in the game-winner. She scored the game-winner to open the season against Kennesaw State and picked up two more game-winners against Wofford and Furman.

Delmonico helped the Bears defense to nine shutouts this season, including a three-straight to end the regular season and open the conference tournament. She scored four points from her defender spot, two goals this season.

Mercer and Samford each placed three student-athletes on the all-freshman team. Furman added a pair, while The Citadel, UNCG, and Chattanooga each placed one.

The league coaches voted on a pair of all-conference teams, an all-freshman team, and the four individual awards. They were not allowed to vote for themselves or their players. The first and second teams include 11 players, voted on by position, while the all-freshman team also consists of 11 players but gives no regard to position.

2019 Women's Soccer All-Conference Team
Player of the Year – Nicole Icen, Fr., F, Mercer
Defensive Player of the Year – Taylore Miller, Jr., D, Samford
Coach of the Year – Tony Economopoulos, Mercer
Freshman of the Year – Jasmine Greene, F, Furman

First Team
F – Jasmine Greene, Furman
F – Nicole Icen, Mercer
F – Cienna Rideout, UNCG
F – Taylor Yount, Samford
M – Isabella Gutierrez, Furman
M – Abigail Zoeller, Mercer
M – Alyssa Frazier, Samford
D – Elena Pisani, ETSU
D – Lexi Orman, Samford
D – Taylore Miller, Samford
GK – Morgan McAslan, Samford

Second Team
F – Suzuka Yosue, The Citadel
F – Kyndal Anderson, Furman
F – Caroline Orman, Samford
M – Ciara Whitely, Mercer
M – Kaley Tucker, UNCG
M – Hollie Massey, Chattanooga
M – Julia Winter, Western Carolina
D – Erin O'Hearn, Furman
D – Megan Delmonico, Mercer
D – Kayla Campbell, UNCG
GK – Kellsey Weaver, Furman

All-Freshman Team
Suzuka Yosue, The Citadel
Kyndal Anderson, Furman
Jasmine Greene, Furman
Amaya Evans, Mercer
Nicole Icen, Mercer
Ciara Whitely, Mercer
Gabi Santora, UNCG
Nikki Bario, Samford
Kyla Reynolds, Samford
Taylor Yount, Samford
McKenzie Smith, Chattanooga

UP NEXT
The Bears return to action on Friday, November 8 when they travel to Greensboro, N.C. for the SoCon Semifinals. The Bears face the Bulldogs of Samford at 4 p.m. from the UNCG Soccer Stadium.

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Icen Named Player of the Year; Economopoulos Coach of the Year

Players Mentioned

Megan Delmonico

Amaya Evans

Nicole Icen

Ciara Whitely

Abigail Zoeller

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