Colorado University Athletics
Taylor Kornieck (22) and Danica Evans (middle) both were named first-team all-Pac-12.
Photo by: Mike Greening
Kornieck Named Pac-12 Freshman Of The Year
November 08, 2016 | Soccer
Kornieck, Evans and Tompkins all earn postseason Pac-12 awards
SAN FRANCISCO - Colorado's Taylor Kornieck was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year on Tuesday and both she and Danica Evans earned first-team all-Pac-12 honors. Kornieck and Jalen Tompkins were both named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team as well.
The awards marked a number of firsts for the Buffaloes. Kornieck and Evans are the first two Colorado players to earn first-team all-conference since CU joined the Pac-12 in 2011 and they are the first first-team selections since Nikki Marshall in 2009 when CU was in the Big 12. Kornieck is also the first Buffs player to earn a player of the year award in the Pac-12 and the first CU player to earn conference freshman/newcomer of the year since Caroline Danneberg was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year in 2009.
Kornieck has had a stellar first season in Boulder. The Henderson, Nev., native is second in the Pac-12 with 11 goals and tied for third with 26 points. Her six game-winning goals are ninth in the nation as well. She became the first CU player ever to record the game-winning goal in three consecutive matches, doing so in the first three Pac-12 matches of the season against Washington State, Arizona and Arizona State. She also netted winners against Drexel and Hawai'i, and her goal with two seconds remaining in the second overtime to beat No. 10 California on Oct. 23 was the latest game-winning goal in school history. Kornieck also earned Top Drawer Soccer National Player of the Week on Oct. 4.
Evans, a senior from Lakewood, Colo., has had a breakout year in Boulder. She has 10 goals and six assists to tie Kornieck with 26 points. She caught fire late in the season and has 15 points in the past seven matches with six goals and three assists during that stretch. Three times she had a career-high four points this season, scoring two goals each against Washington and California, and adding a goal and two assists against Oregon State.
Tompkins, a redshirt freshman from Phoenix, emerged from a tight battle early in the season to become the team's starter. She then became one of the top goalkeepers in the Pac-12 and one of the best freshman goalkeepers in the country. She has posted a 14-4-1 record, while recording a 0.81 goals-against average and .858 save percentage. She broke CU's freshman records for shutouts (7), wins and saves (91). She leads the Pac-12 in saves and saves per game (4.55) and is second in save percentage and third in shutouts. Her save percentage is the third-best among freshmen in the nation.
The Buffs finished tied for second in the Pac-12 with an 8-2-1 conference record under fifth-year head coach Danny Sanchez. The team finished third in the conference two years ago before falling to last place a year ago. The jump of 10 spots from 12th to second this year is the best single-season turnaround in Pac-12 history.
No. 20 Colorado (14-5-1 overall) will host Oklahoma State at noon on Saturday at Prentup Field in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The awards marked a number of firsts for the Buffaloes. Kornieck and Evans are the first two Colorado players to earn first-team all-conference since CU joined the Pac-12 in 2011 and they are the first first-team selections since Nikki Marshall in 2009 when CU was in the Big 12. Kornieck is also the first Buffs player to earn a player of the year award in the Pac-12 and the first CU player to earn conference freshman/newcomer of the year since Caroline Danneberg was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year in 2009.
Kornieck has had a stellar first season in Boulder. The Henderson, Nev., native is second in the Pac-12 with 11 goals and tied for third with 26 points. Her six game-winning goals are ninth in the nation as well. She became the first CU player ever to record the game-winning goal in three consecutive matches, doing so in the first three Pac-12 matches of the season against Washington State, Arizona and Arizona State. She also netted winners against Drexel and Hawai'i, and her goal with two seconds remaining in the second overtime to beat No. 10 California on Oct. 23 was the latest game-winning goal in school history. Kornieck also earned Top Drawer Soccer National Player of the Week on Oct. 4.
Evans, a senior from Lakewood, Colo., has had a breakout year in Boulder. She has 10 goals and six assists to tie Kornieck with 26 points. She caught fire late in the season and has 15 points in the past seven matches with six goals and three assists during that stretch. Three times she had a career-high four points this season, scoring two goals each against Washington and California, and adding a goal and two assists against Oregon State.
Tompkins, a redshirt freshman from Phoenix, emerged from a tight battle early in the season to become the team's starter. She then became one of the top goalkeepers in the Pac-12 and one of the best freshman goalkeepers in the country. She has posted a 14-4-1 record, while recording a 0.81 goals-against average and .858 save percentage. She broke CU's freshman records for shutouts (7), wins and saves (91). She leads the Pac-12 in saves and saves per game (4.55) and is second in save percentage and third in shutouts. Her save percentage is the third-best among freshmen in the nation.
The Buffs finished tied for second in the Pac-12 with an 8-2-1 conference record under fifth-year head coach Danny Sanchez. The team finished third in the conference two years ago before falling to last place a year ago. The jump of 10 spots from 12th to second this year is the best single-season turnaround in Pac-12 history.
No. 20 Colorado (14-5-1 overall) will host Oklahoma State at noon on Saturday at Prentup Field in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
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