Cristina Roque named ACC Goalkeeper of the Year

No. 5 Florida State Seminoles soccer (12-2-2) finished off the regular season on a strong note, taking down Virginia Tech 4-1 to close out the year with a share of the regular season ACC championship.

Ahead of ACC Tournament play, the conference announced its yearly honors, with FSU placing a league-high tying three on the All-ACC First Team (Cristina Roque, Jenna Nighswonger and Jody Brown), three on the All-ACC Second Team (Clara Robbins, Onyi Echegini and LeiLanni Nesbeth) and two on the All-ACC Third Team (Heather Payne and Beata Olsson) and one to the ACC All-Freshmen Team (Heather Gilchrist).

In addition to her first team placement, Roque also received a major honor — the first-ever ACC Goalkeeper of the Year award.

Roque, who helped lead the Seminoles to a national championship last season, has excelled on the pitch this season. In 2022, she recorded 36 saves (a new career high), four shutouts in 10 games and is the NCAA’s active leader in goals against average with a 0.56 mark.

The full release from FSU:

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After a 12-2-2 regular season and a share of the ACC Regular Season Championship, the Florida State soccer team earned a plethora of postseason ACC awards. Cristina Roque was named the ACC’s first Goalkeeper of the Year and the Noles had a league-high nine student-athletes named to the All-ACC team for the second straight season.

In the first season of the ACC Goalkeeper of the Year award, Cristina Roque earned the honor after finishing the regular season with a 7-1-2 record. Roque allowed just seven goals in 900 minutes played, good for a 0.70 goals-against average on the season. She came away with 36 saves, a new career high, and recorded four shutouts in 10 games played this season. Roque is the NCAA’s active leader in goals against average with a 0.56

Florida State placed a league-high tying three on the All-ACC First Team. Along with Roque, Jenna Nighswonger and Jody Brown found a place on the first team for the first time in their career. Nighswonger had a career year in the regular season, finishing with a career-high 13 assists to go with four goals, totaling in a career-high 21 points. Brown also had a career year, finishing with a career-high six goals to go with six assists. She currently has a career-high tying 18 points.

The Seminoles also placed three on the All-ACC Second Team, including Clara Robbins, Onyi Echegini and LeiLanni Nesbeth. Robbins was a mainstay in the Seminole lineup this fall, playing in and starting all 16 games in the midfield for the Noles. She finished the regular season with four goals and four assists for a total of 12 points. Echegini proved to be a valuable pickup for FSU this off-season. She finished the regular season with a team-leading nine goals, including a hat trick against Boston College. Echegini also recorded two assists to finish the season with 20 points, good for second on the team. Nesbeth made the transition to the holding midfield position this season and proved to be a valuable member of the Seminole defense. She helped a Seminole defense that only allowed 12 goals this season and recorded eight shutouts. Nesbeth also proved to be an offensive threat with four goals and an assist.

Both Heather Payne and Beata Olsson were named to the All-ACC Third Team. This is Payne’s first appearance on the All-ACC Team since she was named to the All-Freshman Team in 2019. She helped a Seminole defense that only allowed 12 goals this season and recorded eight shutouts. Offensively Payne recorded two goals and three assists. This is Olsson’s second appearance on the All-ACC Team as she was on the second team a season ago. Olsson was a threat all season at the top of the offense, coming away with five goals and two assists.

Lastly, Heather Gilchrist rounds out the Seminoles that were named to an All-ACC Team as she was named to the freshman team. She played in all 16 regular season games for the Noles with 15 starts. She helped a Seminole defense that only allowed 12 goals this season and recorded eight shutouts.

UP NEXT:

Florida State kicks off the ACC Tournament on Thursday at 8 PM against No. 4 Notre Dame in the tournament semifinals. The match is on the ACC Network.

The full release from the ACC:

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Duke sophomore forward Michelle Cooper and Notre Dame junior defender Eva Gaetino have been voted the 2022 Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively, by the conference’s head coaches, announced today by the league office. Fighting Irish sophomore Korbin Albert was voted Midfielder of the Year, while Florida State junior Cristina Roque was tabbed Goalkeeper of the Year. Duke forward Kat Rader was named Freshman of the Year and Notre Dame’s Nate Norman was voted Coach of the Year.

Cooper is the first Blue Devil to claim Offensive Player of the Year honors since Imani Dorsey in 2017. She is the third Duke player to receive the honor since the award was created in 2004. The Clarkston, Michigan, native leads the ACC with 13 goals and ranks second with 10 assists. Against conference opponents, the striker has scored seven times and handed out six assists, which slot her second in both categories. She scored four goals and recorded three assists in her last three games, including a key tally in Duke’s first-round ACC Championship win over Virginia last Sunday. Cooper was named Offensive Player of the Week twice this season.

Gaetino is the first Notre Dame player to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors. The Dexter, Michigan, native leads a defense that ranks second in the ACC and 19th nationally in goals-against average at .604. Gaetino and the Irish have posted 10 shutouts this season, including seven against conference opponents. Gaetino’s defensive efforts have also limited opponents to just 8.89 shots on goal per contest, which leads the ACC and ranks 10th in the nation.

Albert becomes the first Notre Dame player to claim the Midfielder of the Year award since the honor was introduced in 2014. The Grayslake, Illinois, native is one of five players in the ACC with double-figure goals with 10 on the season. With her four assists on the year, Albert currently ranks fifth in the conference with 24 points and 1.41 points per game. She is a perfect 2-for-2 from the penalty spot this year, and she was named Offensive Player of the Week in the final two weeks of the regular season.

Roque is the first-ever ACC Goalkeeper of the Year, as she totaled 36 saves and seven victories between the posts this season. The Winter Garden, Florida, native leads the conference and ranks 40th nationally with a .837 save percentage. The goalkeeper totaled four shutouts this season, headlined by a 10-save effort in a key conference victory at Virginia on Oct. 6. With that effort, Roque was named Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 11.

Rader becomes Duke’s second-straight Freshman of the Year after Cooper earned the honor a season ago. The Stuart, Florida, native leads all freshmen and ranks second in the ACC with 11 goals this season, including seven against ACC opponents. She recorded two multi-goal games headlined by a two-goal effort in a 2-1 win over Wake Forest on Oct. 6.

Norman becomes Notre Dame’s first ACC Coach of the Year, as he led the Irish to a 14-2-2 overall record and a 7-2-1 conference mark this season. Notre Dame has reached as high as No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and played the eighth-toughest schedule in the country. On the defensive end, the Irish have posted 10 shutouts, headlined by seven against ACC foes, while on the offensive side, Notre Dame leads the conference and ranks 10th nationally in shots on goal at 8.89. After Sunday, Notre Dame advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Championship for the first time since 2016.

The league also announced the 2022 all-conference teams on Wednesday, which are listed below. The all-conference teams are voted on by the head coaches.

The ACC Women’s Soccer Championship continues Thursday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. Fifth-seeded Duke takes on top-seeded North Carolina at 5:30 p.m., while third-seeded Notre Dame meets second-seeded Florida State at 8 p.m.

Earlier this week, the Blue Devils edged Virginia, 2-1, while the Fighting Irish advanced in penalty kicks against Pitt, 1-1 (5-4). Both semifinal matchups will air live on ACC Network. Thursday’s winners will square off on Sunday, Nov. 6 at noon in the final on ESPNU.

2022 All-ACC Women’s Soccer Team

Offensive Player of the Year: Michelle Cooper, So., F, Duke

Defensive Player of the Year: Eva Gaetino, Jr., D, Notre Dame

Midfielder of the Year: Korbin Albert, So., M, Notre Dame

Goalkeeper of the Year: Cristina Roque, Jr., GK, Florida State

Freshman of the Year: Kat Rader, Fr., F, Duke

Coach of the Year: Nate Norman, Notre Dame

First Team All-ACCMichelle Cooper, So., F, Duke

Olivia Wingate, Grad., F, Notre Dame

Korbin Albert, So., M, Notre Dame

Jenna Nighswonger, Sr., M, Florida State

Lia Godfrey, Jr., M, Virginia

Jody Brown, Jr., F, Florida State

Sam Meza, Jr., M, North Carolina

Ally Sentnor, R-Fr., F, North Carolina

Cristina Roque, Jr., GK, Florida State

Eva Gaetino, Jr., D, Notre Dame

Tori Hansen, Sr., D, North Carolina

Second Team All-ACC

Haley Hopkins, Grad., F, Virginia

Hal Hershfelt, Sr., M, Clemson

Clara Robbins, Grad., M, Florida State

Onyi Echegini, Sr., M, Florida State

Avery Patterson, Jr., F, North Carolina

Sophie Jones, Sr., M, Duke

Leilanni Nesbeth, Sr., M, Florida State

Megan Bornkamp, Jr., D, Clemson

Kat Rader, Fr., F, Duke

Delaney Graham, Grad., D, Duke

Ruthie Jones, Sr., GK, Duke

Third Team All-ACC

Maggie Cagle, Fr., F, Virginia

Jameese Joseph, Sr., F, NC State

Alexa Spaanstra, Sr., F, Virginia

Heather Payne, Sr., D, Florida State

Landy Mertz, Sr., F, Pitt

Maddie Mercado, Sr., F, Notre Dame

Maliah Morris, Sr., F, Clemson

Taylor Price, Fr., F, Virginia Tech

Tesa Dellarose, Fr., D, North Carolina

Mackenzie Wood, Grad., GK, Notre Dame

Beata Olsson, Jr., F, Florida State (tie)

Caroline Conti, Sr., M, Clemson (tie)

All-Freshman Team

Kat Rader, F, Duke

Maggie Cagle, F, Virginia

Tessa Dellarose, D, North Carolina

Leah Klenke, D, Notre Dame

Taylor Price, F, Virginia Tech

Heather Gilchrist, D, Florida State

Maddie Dahlien, F, North Carolina

Caiya Hanks, M, Wake Forest

Jill Flammia, M, Virginia

Shea Vanderbosch, GK, Syracuse

Katie Zailski, D, Pitt