Women's Soccer places four on All-NACC First Team

WAUKESHA, Wis. – Four Concordia University Wisconsin Women's Soccer players were named to the All-Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference First Team as the league announced its postseason awards Thursday. The Falcons had seven recognized, one named Second Team and two to the All-Freshman squad in addition to the four First Team selections.

Seniors Ashley Apazeller and Anna Hirssig, along with juniors Brittany Klumpp and Carley Pfannerstill were named to the First Team for CUW. The four First Team selections ties for the most in program history during the NACC era as CUW also had four in 2006.

Apazeller (Jackson, Wis.) proved to be one of the best defenders in the conference after playing in 19 games for the Falcons. She finished the season with one assist but played a big part in a team that allowed just 10 goals in 10 NACC games. The Falcons posted eight shutouts, largely in part to Apazeller and the rest of the back four.

Hirssig (Rochester, Minn.) posted 26 points this season, scoring 11 goals and adding four assists. Of her 26 points, 17 came in NACC regular season games and six more occurred during the NACC Tournament. Hirssig scored three goals in two tournament matches, including two in the NACC Championship. Three times during the season she posted three-match goal streaks.

Klumpp (Rubicon, Wis.) proved to be the Falcons top offensive threat in 2014, tying for second in the conference with 18 goals and finishing third with 40 points. Klumpp also became the third Falcon in the NACC era to surpass 100 career points earlier in the season. The junior forward had plenty of big matches throughout the season, scoring two or more goals six times, including a hat trick against North Park University on Sept. 10.

Pfannerstill (Grafton, Wis.) tied for fifth in the NACC with 38 points, scoring 15 times and adding eight assists. The junior joined Klumpp in the 100-point club, reaching the total her last match of the season. She had four multi-goal matches and scored in 11 different contests this season. Pfannerstill also led CUW and ranked third in the conference with 109 shots.

Junior Emily Ciesielczyk (Waukesha, Wis.) was named to the All-NACC Second Team after finishing the season with 23 points. She led the Falcons with nine assists and scored seven goals. The junior did most of her damage in NACC play, recording 19 points in just nine contests.

A pair of freshmen, goalkeeper Tabitha Ortiz (Plainfield, Ill.) and midfielder McKenna Kowalski (Milwaukee, Wis.) were named to the All-Freshman Team. Ortiz, who played in 10 matches and started eight, ranked second in the conference with a 0.89 GAA. She also posted a .784 save percentage, while finishing the year with a 7-3-0 record. Kowalski made six starts and appeared in 16 matches for CUW. She was third on the team with five assists and added one goal, resulting in seven points. Three of her five assists came during her six NACC contests.

Aurora University swept the three main player awards led by Nicci Bermudes' Offensive Player of the Year Selection. The Spartans also had the Defensive Player of the Year in midfielder Lisa Bajkowski as well as Beth Robbins who was tabbed as Freshman of the Year. Carlos Carrillo of Dominican University was chosen by his counterparts as the NACC Coach of the Year.