Nov. 6, 2012

Complete Release | Follow @WCCsports | WCC on Facebook

Top Play Tuesday | WCC Player of the Year Lindsi Lisonbee Cutshall

SAN BRUNO, Calif. -- After posting a 7-0-1 league mark and capturing its first West Coast Conference title, BYU earned four of the conference's five major awards, announced Tuesday. Cougars senior Lindsi Lisonbee Cutshall is the WCC Player of the Year, junior Erica Owens is the Goalkeeper of the Year, forward Michele Murphy is the Freshman of the Year, and head coach Jennifer Rockwood is the WCC Coach of the Year. Portland junior Kendall Johnson was selected as the conference's Defensive Player of the Year. All five awards - along with the all-conference teams - were voted on by the WCC's nine head coaches.

One of the league's toughest defenders, Cutshall becomes the first BYU student-athlete to be recognized as the WCC Player of the Year. After tying Santa Clara in the conference opener, the Cougars reeled off seven straight WCC wins to capture the West Coast Conference championship for the first time in school history. Cutshall anchored a Cougars defense that allowed just four goals during conference play.

Portland's Kendall Johnson was named the WCC Defensive Player of the Year by the league's nine head coaches. The junior becomes the fifth Pilot player to win the award, joining Jessica Tsao (2010), Stephanie Lopez (2005, 2007), Imani Dorsey (2003), and Lauren Orlandos (2000, 20002) as Defensive Player of the Year honorees. Johnson and the Pilots defense posted three WCC shutouts and reeled off a six-match unbeaten streak to end the season.

BYU junior Erica Owens is the second West Coast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year - an award that was first distributed in 2011. Owens made 20 saves during conference play, posting four shutouts. A leader on the field for the Cougars, Owens registered a 0.48 goals against average during conference play, while recording 10 shutouts in 2012.

Michele Murphy is the first BYU player to be named WCC Freshman of the Year. Murphy burst onto the scene in 2012, scoring eight goals and dishing out seven assists in her debut season while helping the Cougars to their first WCC crown. Against conference foes, Murphy scored three goals and recorded four assists - both highs for conference freshmen.

After leading her squad to its first WCC title and an NCAA No. 1 seed for the first time, Jennifer Rockwood was named the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year. Under Rockwood's guidance, BYU posted a record of 18-1-1 in 2012, earning a No. 4 national ranking and the WCC's automatic NCAA berth. A former coach of the year in both the Western Athletic Conference and Mountain West Conference at BYU, Rockwood leads a Cougars squad that enters NCAA play on a 17-match unbeaten streak.

For the second straight year and third time since 2005, four West Coast Conference teams will compete for the Women's Soccer College Cup. BYU, Pepperdine, Portland, and Santa Clara will all compete in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, which begins Friday. The West Coast Conference has been represented 19 times in the Final Four, and has produced three national champions.

2012 West Coast Conference Player of the Year
Lindsi Lisonbee Cutshall, Sr., D, BYU

2012 West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year
KendallJohnson, Jr., Portland

2012 West Coast Conference Goalkeeper of the Year
Erica Owens, Jr., BYU

2012 West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year
Michele Murphy, F, BYU

2012 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year
Jennifer Rockwood, BYU

2012 ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM

2012 ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM

2012 ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE HONORABLE MENTION
Roxanne Barker (Pepperdine); Taylor Brooke (Portland); Megan Connor (San Francisco); Erin Dees (Portland); Etajha Gilmer (Loyola Marymount); Cricket Harber (Gonzaga); Mariah Hobbs (San Diego); Noelle La Prevotte (Portland); Lauren Luke (Gonzaga); Melinda Madden (Saint Mary's); Morgan Manchester (Gonzaga); Lauren Matheson (Santa Clara); Kelley McCloskey (San Diego); Cori McGovern (Loyola Marymount); Christina Moberg (San Francisco); Michele Murphy (BYU); Vicki Shimkus (Saint Mary's); Kelsea Smith (Pepperdine); Dani Weatherholt (Santa Clara)

2012 ALL-WEST COAST CONFERENCE FRESHMAN TEAM