INDIANAPOLIS – Rockhurst University senior forward Taylor Skala, along with University of Wisconsin-Parkside senior defender Karley Mecko, freshman midfielder Bailey Reed, and head coach Troy Fabiano have earned major postseason honors for the 2014 Great Lakes Valley Conference women’s soccer season, it was announced by the league office Thursday evening.  Skala was voted by the league coaches as GLVC Offensive Player of the Year, while the Rangers’ Mecko was picked as the Defensive Player of the Year, Reed was Freshman of the Year, and Fabiano garnered Coach of the Year accolades.  In addition, a total of 33 standouts were named to the 2014 All-Conference Teams.  The annual awards were presented Thursday at a reception on the eve of the 2014 GLVC Championship Tournament.

Skala earned the league’s top offensive honor after registering a conference-high 31 points and 14 goals in 15 GLVC games while also ranking tied for third with three assists in league action.  The Long Grove, Illinois, native had a foot in 17 of the Hawks’ 33 goals scored in conference play this season, with five of those netters serving as game-winners.  She was honored as the GLVC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 27 after collecting nine points on four goals and one assist in conference wins over Drury and Missouri S&T.  Overall this season, Skala is second nationally in game-winning goals (7), fourth in goals scored (16), and sixth in points (36).  Skala continues to hold the distinction as the only Rockhurst standout to have ever earned a major conference postseason honor as she was also recognized as the GLVC Freshman of the Year in 2011.  She will end her career at Rockhurst as a four-time All-Conference honoree, having garnered her third first-team distinction this season, which was the lone unanimous selection.  She was a second-team honoree last year.

Mecko is just the second Ranger to earn GLVC Defensive Player of the Year as Lauki’l Cheng was selected by the coaches in 2008.  GLVC Hall of Famer Stephanie Strauss was named Player of the Year in 2004, just two years prior to the league splitting the sport’s top honors into offensive and defensive awards.  Mecko helped anchor a UWP backline that allowed just four goals in 15 conference games, averaging a 0.26 goals-against clip in a perfect 1400:00 minutes of play.  Parkside has gone 428 minutes without allowing a goal, a streak spanning back to Oct. 19.  Additionally, the Crystal Lake, Illinois, native found success on the offensive side of the field as well, ranking fifth in the GLVC in goals scored (6) and 10th overall in points (12).

Reed becomes the fifth Ranger to take home GLVC Freshman of the Year accolades, and the first since Shannon Becker in 2008.  Other Parkside recipients of the award have included Abbigale Wild (2001), Erica Kollatz (2002), and Tamara Buntrock (2004).  Reed found the back of the net on four occasions this season, two of which were game-winners, while assisting on three others.  The Mexico, Missouri, native has started all 18 games this season and ranks sixth on the team with 11 points, helping her to third-team All-GLVC accolades at midfield.

Fabiano has guided his fourth-ranked Rangers to a 15-0-3 record overall, including 12-0-3 in league play and the first regular-season conference championship in program history.  The four-time GLVC Coach of the Year previous won one of the conference’s top major awards in 2003, 2004, and 2008.  Now in his 17th year, Fabiano’s Rangers have notched 15 consecutive winning campaigns and are loaded with a host of All-Conference honorees, including Mecko and fellow first-team selections in defenders Emily Konior and Nickie Pellens, and goalkeeper Mallory Geurtis.  Fabiano had two more representatives recognized by the league as Jillian Hetfleisch and Reed were second- and third-team picks, respectively.

Twenty-six other women’s soccer stars earned recognition from the GLVC coaches, as three 11-member All-Conference teams were also released on Thursday. 

Of the 33 All-Conference selections, UW-Parkside and Bellarmine University led the way with six representatives each.  The Rangers put four standouts on the first team and one each on the second and third teams, while the Knights garnered two nominees on each of the three squads, including first-teamers Mary Beth Gorham at forward and Lauren Holder at midfield. Drury University and Rockhurst followed with five All-Conference honorees, while Quincy University and Truman State University shared fifth overall with each three players each. 

Joining the four Rangers, Bellarmine’s Gorham and Holder, as well as Rockhurst’s Skala, on the first-team All-GLVC squad were Drury’s Emily Cline and Shelby Hatz, Quincy’s Ashley Burton, and Truman’s Alexia Heffernan.

A complete list of the three All-Conference Teams and major postseason award winners follow below.

GLVC women’s soccer action resumes Friday with top-seeded UW-Parkside, No. 4 Truman State, No. 6 Quincy and No. 7 Missouri S&T competing in semifinal action of the 2014 GLVC Women’s Soccer Championship Tournament, hosted by UW-Parkside at Wood Road Field in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  Friday’s semifinal rounds between Quincy and Missouri S&T (11:30 a.m. CT) and UW-Parkside and Truman (1:30 p.m.), along with Sunday’s championship final (12 p.m. CT) will be streamed live on the GLVC Sports Network at GLVCsports.com/watch.

2014 WOMEN'S SOCCER ALL-GLVC TEAMS & POSTSEASON HONORS

Offensive Player of the Year:
Taylor Skala, F, Sr., RU
 
Defensive Player of the Year:
Karley Mecko, B, Sr., UWP

Freshman of the Year:
Bailey Reed, MF, UWP
 
Coach of the Year:
Troy Fabiano, UWP

FIRST TEAM
Mary Beth Gorham, F, So., BU
Lauren Holder, MF, So., BU
Emily Cline, F, R-Jr., DU
Shelby Hatz, F, Sr., DU
Ashley Burton, MF, Jr., QU
*TAYLOR SKALA, F, SR., RU
Alexis Heffernan, MF, Jr., TSU
Karley Mecko, B, Sr., UWP
Emily Konior, B, Sr., UWP
Niekie Pellens, B, So., UWP
Mallory Geurts, GK, So., UWP

SECOND TEAM
Abby Janzen, MF, Sr., BU
Hannah Poteet, GK, So., BU
Paige Westbrook, B, Jr., DU
Jessica Chavez, F, Jr., LEWIS
Maggie Moran, F, Jr., LEWIS
Sabrina Hostler, F., Sr., S&T
Julia Bartolacci, MF, Jr., RU
Jessica Hanson, B, Jr., TSU
Lauren Seawright, B, Sr., TSU
Jillian Hetfleisch, F, So., UWP
Jade Gifford, MF, Jr., WJC
 
THIRD TEAM
Taylor Gamm, B, Sr., BU
Emily Hollander, F., Sr., BU
Mariah Grove, MF, Jr., DU
Ciara O’Brien, MF, Jr., DU
Shannon Foley, F, Jr., MU
Taylor Lindwedel, B, Jr., QU
Megan Swanson, GK, Fr., QU
Courtney Silberberg, MF, So., RU
Brandi Van Booven, F., Jr., RU
Nicole Vermes, B, Sr., RU
Bailey Reed, MF, Fr., UWP