NORFOLK, Va. – Iris Achterhof of the Old Dominion women’s soccer team has been named the state Rookie of the Year, as announced by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID). Achterhof was also named to the VaSID All-State Second Team on Thursday.
It was quite a season for Conference USA Freshman of the Year, Iris Achterhof, who led Old Dominion in total points (21), goals (8), assists (5) and game-winners (3). She was named to the All C-USA squad, the C-USA All Tournament Team and the Conference USA All Freshman Team, as she led the Lady Monarchs on a thrilling run to the semifinals of the 2015 Conference USA tournament.
Achterhof finished sixth in the conference for points per match and seventh for goals, as well as goals per game. She ranked eighth in the C-USA for points, assists and assists per match. The right-footed freshman from the Netherlands recorded a hat trick, all in the second half, in ODU’s 3-1 win over George Mason. Achterhof also played a large part in Old Dominion women’s soccer program winning its most games since 2008.
The other major award honorees included Virginia defender Emily Sonnett as Player of the Year and Virginia head coach Steve Swanson as Coach of the Year, marking the fourth consecutive year that Swanson and a Cavalier have garnered the awards.
In total, nine different teams were represented across the first and second teams: Virginia, William & Mary, James Madison, Virginia Tech, George Mason, Liberty, Old Dominion, Radford and VCU.
2015 VaSID University Division Women’s Soccer All-State Teams
Player of the Year – Emily Sonnett (Virginia)
Coach of the Year – Steve Swanson (Virginia)
Rookie of the Year – Iris Achterhof (Old Dominion)
FIRST TEAM
Forwards
Makenzy Doniak (Virginia)
Murielle Tiernan (Virginia Tech)
Ashley Herndon (James Madison)
Midfielders
Ashley Meier (Virginia Tech)
Alexis Shaffer (Virginia)
Nicole Baxter (William & Mary)
Defenders
Kristen McNabb (Virginia)
Emily Sonnett (Virginia)
Clara Logsdon (William & Mary)
Meghan Cox (Virginia)
Goalkeeper
Caroline Casey (William & Mary)
SECOND TEAM
Forwards
Iris Achterhof (Old Dominion)
Jennifer Knoebel (Liberty)
Sarah Hardison (George Mason)
Midfielders
Sharon Wojcik (VCU)
Rachel Moore (William & Mary)
Allie Bunner (James Madison)
Katie Johnston (William & Mary)
Defenders
Jordan Lundin (Radford)
Jennie Sroba (James Madison)
Leci Irvin (William & Mary)
Goalkeeper
Morgan Stearns (Virginia)
VaSID names 27 All-State teams in 15 sports each year, as well as an Academic All-State squad and an all-sports champion in both the University and College Divisions. Membership in VaSID is open to all media relations professionals working at a university or conference in the Commonwealth of Virginia.