Five Wolverines Garner All-Big Ten Awards
10/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 30, 2015
ROSEMONT, Ill. -- With just two days remaining until the start of the 2015 Big Ten Tournament, five members of the University of Michigan women's soccer team received All-Big Ten honors on Friday (Oct. 30). Junior/sophomore Ani Sarkisian and seniors Corinne Harris and Christina Murillo were each voted to the All-Big Ten first team, while Reilly Martin and Sura Yekka were named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
The Wolverines have placed at least one player on the first team in each of the last four seasons (2012-15). Historically, U-M has had a first-teamer in 12 of 22 years, while three members are the second-most in program history, as the Wolverines had four honorees in 1999, 2012 and 2013. Michigan has also had at least one player on the All-Freshman Team in each of the last six years (2010-15).
After leading the Big Ten with 12 assists and being named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2014, Sarkisian became more of a dual-threat in 2015, registering seven goals and three assists this season. Her seven goals are tied for sixth in the Big Ten. The forward from Cresskill, New Jersey, has started all 39 games in her Michigan career, racking up 37 points (11G, 15A). The highlight of her season came when she became the 10th player in program history to record a hat trick, scoring three goals against Illinois (Oct. 11). Sarkisian was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 13 for that game-changing performance.
Harris, one of four Wolverine captains, has earned Big Ten honors in three of her four seasons in Maize and Blue, being selected to the All-Freshman Team in 2012 and the All-Big Ten second team in 2014. The Chicago native has missed just one game in her Michigan career, playing in 85 games with 64 starts. This season she has scored three goals and added one assist, bringing her career total to 10 goals and 21 assists. Her 21 career assists rank fourth all-time at Michigan. Earlier this month, she was featured as No. 8 on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays with her game-winning goal against No. 22 Northwestern. Just yesterday (Oct. 29) she was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Five first team for the second straight season. In addition to her first-team selection, Harris was also chosen as the team's representative for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Following a year off to train with the Mexican National Team, Murillo has returned to anchor Michigan's defense at center back. She returns to the Big Ten honors list after being a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in 2011. The captain from Ojai, California, has orchestrated Michigan's defense that has allowed an average of one goal and just seven shots per game this season. Murillo has started 76 of 78 games played at U-M, including all 19 matches this season. This season, she is second in the Big Ten with a team-best seven assists, giving her a total of 15 assists and two goals in her career. On Sept. 22, she was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after leading U-M to back-to-back shutout wins over Nebraska and Iowa.
In their first seasons in Maize and Blue, Martin and Yekka have immediately impacted the Wolverines. Martin has played in 17 games with six starts and registered two goals and five assists. The Carmel, Indiana, native tallied a career-high two assists in the season opener against Eastern Michigan and scored her first career goal on a penalty kick in a 2-1 win over San Diego. Most recently, she had the assist on the game-winning goal in overtime against Purdue. Yekka, a defender from Mississauga, Ontario, has been a mainstay in Michigan's back line rotation, playing in all 19 games with 10 starts at outside back. She has been a key member of U-M's defense that has allowed just seven shots per game, but has also been a catalyst to Michigan's offense, often pushing forward on the attack. Yekka has one assist so far this season.
Michigan (11-6-2, 6-3-2 Big Ten) earned the No. 5 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament and will be on the road for its quarterfinal match, taking on No. 4 Northwestern (13-4-2, 7-3-1 Big Ten) on Sunday, Nov. 1, at noon CST. [ Match Preview ]
2015 Big Ten Women's Soccer Awards & All-Big Ten Teams
Coach of the Year: Paula Wilkins, Wisconsin
Forward of the Year: Simone Kolander, Minnesota
Midfielder of the Year: Rose Lavelle, Wisconsin
Defender of the Year: Erica Skroski, Rutgers
Goalkeeper of the Year: Casey Murphy, Rutgers
Freshman of the Year: Victoria Pickett, Wisconsin
| Position | First Team | Second Team |
| Forward | Ani Sarkisian, Michigan | Janelle Flaws, Illinois |
| Simone Kolander, Minnesota | Addie Steiner, Northwestern | |
| Mallory Weber, Penn State | Megan Schafer, Penn State | |
| Midfield | Corinne Harris, Michigan | Josee Stiever, Minnesota |
| Raquel Rodriguez, Penn State | Emily Ogle, Penn State | |
| ROSE LAVELLE, Wisconsin | Victoria Pickett, Wisconsin | |
| Defense | Christina Murillo, Michigan | Rashida Beal, Minnesota |
| Mary Katherine Fiebernitz, Michigan State | Jaylyn Odermann, Nebraska | |
| Brianne Reed, Rutgers | Kaleigh Riehl, Penn State | |
| Erica Skroski, Rutgers | Bri Stelzer, Wisconsin | |
| Goalkeeper | Casey Murphy, Rutgers | Caitlyn Clem, Wisconsin |
All-Big Ten Freshman Team*
| Position | |
| Forward | Reilly Martin, Michigan |
| Alexis Warner, Michigan State | |
| April Bockin, Minnesota | |
| Alina Ortega-Jurado, Penn State | |
| Midfield | Molly Fiedler, Minnesota |
| Marisa Viggiano, Northwestern | |
| Sarah Roberts, Ohio State | |
| Charlotte Williams, Penn State | |
| Kate Walters, Rutgers | |
| Victoria Pickett, Wisconsin | |
| Defense | Sura Yekka, Michigan |
| Kayla Sharples, Northwestern | |
| Ellie Jean, Penn State | |
| Kaleigh Riehl, Penn State | |
| Kenie Wright, Rutgers | |
| Goalkeeper | DEVON KERR, Ohio State |
Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS
*Additional honorees due to ties
Sportsmanship Award Honorees
Anastasia Medellin, Illinois
Emily Basten, Indiana
Hannah Clark, Iowa
Rachelle Beanlands, Maryland
Corinne Harris, Michigan
Sarah Kovan, Michigan State
Kellie McGahn, Minnesota
Alli Peterson, Nebraska
Nandi Mehta, Northwestern
Sydney Dudley, Ohio State
Teddy Chase, Penn State
Kim Love, Purdue
Maggie Morash, Rutgers
Holly Heckendorf, Wisconsin
Communications Contact: Whitney Dixon
