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Apr, 2021

PALADIN MIDFIELDERS SWEEP SOCON PLAYER, FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR HONORS; FURMAN PLACES SIX ON ALL-SOCON

Greenville, S.C. – Furman's Isabella Gutierrez was named Southern Conference Women's Soccer Player of the Year, Nieva Gaither garnered freshman of the year honors and six Paladins were selected to All-SoCon teams, it was announced by the league office on Thursday afternoon.

Gutierrez, Jasmine Greene and Miya Poplin were named first team All-SoCon, while Gaither and Faith Haubergrepresented the Paladins as second team All-SoCon selections. Gaither, Poplin and Addison Corn received SoCon All-Freshman accolades with Gaither being named SoCon Freshman of the Year by garnering the most votes on the all-freshman ballot.

A native of Statesboro, Ga., Gutierrez became the seventh different Paladin to earn SoCon Player of the Year honors in the 27-year history of the program and first since Stephanie DeVita in 2014. The midfielder, a two-time first team All-SoCon choice, tallied four goals and added two assists in eight regular season matches. She netted the game-winning scores in Furman's 1-0 victories over The Citadel and UNCG.

Gaither, a three-time Gatorade Georgia Player of the Year as a prep standout at Parkview High School, netted two goals and added four assists in her first eight collegiate matches. The Lilburn, Ga., native scored the match-winning goal at VMI, assisted on both goals in a 2-0 win versus Chattanooga and netted the Paladins' lone goal in a 1-1 draw versus Samford. Gaither's selection marks the 10^th time a Paladin has earned SoCon Freshman of the Year honors.

Last year's freshman of the year, Jasmine Greene, earned All-SoCon honors for a second straight season after supplying two goals and two assists for the Paladin offense in eight matches. The Hoover, Ala., product scored versus Chattanooga and Wofford during the regular season.

Poplin, a native of Hilton Head Island, S.C., received first team All-SoCon honors after a standout freshman season in which she started all eight matches in the midfield while adding a goal and an assist. Both came in the Paladins' 3-1 victory at Western Carolina.

Hauberg, a junior from Vestavia Hills, Ala., rounded out the All-SoCon selections by joining Gaither on the second team. The junior made the move to center back this season and helped anchor a Furman defense that surrendered just four goals in eight matches.

Goalkeeper Addison Corn joined Poplin and Gaither on the SoCon All-Freshman team after fashioning a 0.56 goals against average and 3-0-1 record this season. The Marietta, Ga., native helped the Paladins to an unbeaten record and four shutouts during the regular season.

Head coach Andrew Burr's Paladins are 6-0-2 and enter the SoCon Women's Soccer Championship as the No. 2 seed. The Paladins will host No. 3 seed Chattanooga on Saturday at 7 p.m. on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium. The winner advances to face Friday's Samford-Mercer winner in next week's SoCon Championship Match.

Saturday's contest will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live statistics available through StatBroadcast. Links for both will be made available at FurmanPaladins.com.

2020-21 Women's Soccer All-Conference Team

Player of the Year – Isabella Gutierrez, Jr., MF, Furman
Defensive Player of the Year – Maggie Shaw, Jr., D, Chattanooga
Coach of the Year – Gavin McKinney, Chattanooga
Freshman of the Year – Nieva Gaither, MF, Furman

First Team
F – Suzuka Yosue, The Citadel
F – Jasmine Greene, Furman
F – Taylor Yount, Samford
M – Isabella Gutierrez, Furman
M – Miya Poplin, Furman
M – Alyssa Frazier, Samford
D – Brie Pavol, Mercer
D – Kylie Gazza, Samford
D – Lexi Orman, Samford
D – Maggie Shaw, Chattanooga
GK – Morgan McAslan, Samford

Second Team
F – Ally Fordham, Mercer
F – Aliah Kitchens, Mercer
F – Caroline Orman, Samford
F – Chloe Arnold, Chattanooga
F – Rachel Rasins, Wofford
M – Nieva Gaither, Furman
M – Ciara Whitely, Mercer
M – Katie Gilligan, Wofford
D – Faith Hauberg, Furman
D – Ashley Avelino, UNCG
D – Lauren Dluzewski, Chattanooga
GK – Jordyn Ebert, Mercer

All-Freshman Team
Sinoxolo Cesane, ETSU
Addison Corn, Furman
Nieva Gaither, Furman
Miya Poplin, Furman
Kendall Cook, Mercer
Ella Simpson, Samford
Kendra Mueller, Chattanooga
Ao Yamada, Chattanooga
Maggie Lloyd, Western Carolina
Mia Bookhard, Wofford
Olivia Hughes, Wofford

Contact

Furman Women's Soccer

3300 Poinsett Highway
Greenville, South Carolina 29613

Phone: 864-294-3071
Email: [email protected]

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