Carolyn Ford Named ACC Defensive Player Of The Year; Four Blue Devils Earn All-ACC Honors

GREENSBORO, N.C. ? The 2005 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) women's soccer awards were released on Tuesday with Duke senior Carolyn Ford earning Defensive Player of the Year, while junior Rebecca Moros, junior Darby Kroyer and freshman Christie McDonald each were named All-ACC.

Ford, a senior from Bethesda, Md., leads a defense that is tied for the league lead in goals allowed (9) and second in goals against average at 0.51. Duke is on pace to finish the season with the fewest goals allowed and lowest GAA in school history, a mark previously set back in 1988 when the Blue Devils allowed 13 goals and posted a 0.74 GAA in their inaugural season.

“We are really excited for Carolyn,” said Duke Head Coach Robbie Church. “She is the heart and soul of our team. It is a very deserving honor for her to be named Defensive Player of the Year. Carolyn does so much for us in the back-- she is a great one-v-one defender, is good in the air and really starts a lot of our offense. If you come watch Duke in action, number 30 stands out when you watch us play.”

The center back has led Duke to nine shutouts on the year, while posting two goals and two assists. She now owns 21 career assists, which ranks third on the Blue Devil career charts.

Ford was also named first team All-ACC in 2005 along with Moros, a native of Larchmont, N.Y. Earning All-ACC accolades for the second time in her career, Moros currently leads the Blue Devils with 11 points as she has totaled four goals and three assists on the year. Earlier in the season, she netted both scores as Duke knocked off top-ranked and undefeated North Carolina, 2-1, and has notched two game-winning goals on the year. Last season, Moros was selected second team All-ACC.

A tri-captain in 2005 for the Blue Devils, Kroyer was selected second team All-ACC this season after registering four goals, two assists and 10 points. She leads the Blue Devils with 42 shots on the year and owns one game-winning goal. A native of San Ramon, Calif., Kroyer has totaled goals against two ACC squads -- Florida State and Wake Forest.

Receiving All-ACC Freshman team accolades was McDonald, who is from Newnan, Ga. After starting her career with a golden goal against UNC Greensboro, McDonald has gone on to collect four goals and one assist for nine points in 17 matches this year. She notched the lone goal in Duke's 1-0 victory over Maryland on Oct. 16 and also had a goal against Virginia Tech in ACC play.

Earning the other top awards in 2005 were North Carolina's Heather O'Reilly (Offensive Player of the Year), Virginia's Jessica Rostedt (Freshman of the Year) and Florida State's Mark Krikorian (Coach of the Year).

Duke will open the ACC Tournament on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. against fifth-seeded Boston College at the SAS Soccer Complex in Cary, N.C. The Blue Devils are seeded fourth for the second straight year and own a 12-4-1 overall, 6-4-0 ACC record.

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2005 All-ACC First Team
Lori Chalupny    ............................................... Midfield........................... North Carolina
Carolyn Ford      ............................................... Defender........................................ Duke
Laura Georges    ............................................... Defender.......................... Boston College
Sarah Huffman   ............................................... Midfield.................................... Virginia
Noelle Keselica   ............................................... Midfield.................................... Virginia
Sel Kuralay        ............................................... Forward............................. Florida State
Rebecca Moros   ............................................... Midfield......................................... Duke
Heather O'Reilly ............................................... Forward.......................... North Carolina
Viola Odebrecht ............................................... Midfield............................. Florida State
Nikki Resnick     ............................................... Goalkeeper.............................. Maryland
India Trotter      ............................................... Midfield............................. Florida State

2005 All-ACC Second Team
Kendall Fletcher ............................................... Defender.......................... North Carolina
Courtney Foster ............................................... Forward................................... Clemson
Kimmy Francis   ............................................... Midfield.................................. Maryland
Allison Graham ............................................... Midfield.................................... Clemson
Darby Kroyer      ............................................... Midfield......................................... Duke
Sarah Kozey       ............................................... Forward.............................. Wake Forest
Ashley Phillips   ............................................... Goalkeeper............................... Clemson
Jessica Rostedt   ............................................... Forward.................................... Virginia
Becky Sauerbrunn.............................................. Defender................................... Virginia
Melanie Schneider.............................................. Midfield.............................. Wake Forest
Lindsay Tarpley ............................................... Forward.......................... North Carolina
Kacey White       ............................................... Midfield........................... North Carolina

2005 All-ACC Freshmen Team
Yael Averbuch    ............................................... Midfield........................... North Carolina
Nikki Krzysik     ............................................... Defender................................... Virginia
Christie McDonald.............................................. Forward........................................ Duke
Laurie Beth Puglisi............................................ Forward............................ Virginia Tech
Kelly Quinn        ............................................... Midfield.................................... Virginia
Jessica Rostedt   ............................................... Forward.................................... Virginia
Katrin Schmidt   ............................................... Defender............................. Florida State
Lindsay Vera      ............................................... Forward................................... NC State
Sarah Wagenfuhr............................................... Defender............................. Florida State
Caroline Walden ............................................... Forward.......................... Boston College
Mami Yamaguchi............................................... Midfield............................. Florida State

2005 Offensive Player of the Year
Heather O'Reilly ............................................... ...................................... North Carolina

2005 Defensive Player of the Year
Carolyn Ford ............................................... .................................................... Duke

2005 Freshman of the Year
Jessica Rostedt ............................................... ................................................ Virginia

2005 Coach of the Year
Mark Krikorian ............................................... ......................................... Florida State