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Four Blue Devils Receive TopDrawerSoccer.com Postseason Honors
12/14/2021 12:37:00 PM | Women's Soccer
DURHAM – TopDrawerSoccer.com unveiled its postseason awards for the 2021 campaign on Tuesday with four Duke student-athletes receiving individual honors.
Michelle Cooper was named the Freshman of the Year and landed on the Freshman Best XI Team, while junior goalkeeper Ruthie Jones was tapped to the Best XI First Team. Fellow junior Sophie Jones and graduate student Tess Boade each earned second-team recognition, marking Duke's most TopDrawerSoccer.com postseason accolades since 2017 (four Best XI, one Freshman Best XI selections).
Tuesday's Freshman of the Year award comes as the latest honor in a highly decorated season for Cooper, who is currently taking part in the U.S. U-20 Women's National Team year-end camp. The ACC Freshman of the Year and United Soccer Coaches first-team All-American put together a season for the ages in Durham, scoring 12 goals with five assists for 29 points in just 18 matches. Her goal total set a Duke freshman record and tied for second among freshmen nationally, while her 1.61 points per game ranked 23rd nationally and second in the ACC.
She becomes the second player in program history to be named the TopDrawerSoccer.com Freshman of the Year, joining Cassie Pecht in 2012. Duke has been represented by 11 players on the Best XI Freshman Team since its inception in 2008.
In her second season as the team's starting goalkeeper, Jones emerged as one of the top players in the nation at her position. The first-team All-ACC pick posted a 0.59 goals against average – the best mark in the conference and 13th-best nationally – while her nine complete-game shutouts tied for the league lead. Jones recorded 46 saves to just 12 goals against for the second-best save percentage in the ACC (.793). The Charlotte, N.C., native was a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and earned a spot on the United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Region Second Team.
Boade caps off her memorable career at Duke with second-team Best XI honors after registering career highs in goals (8), assists (5) and points (21) this fall. The team captain was twice named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 21, Oct. 26) and scored five game-winning goals on the way to earning first-team All-ACC recognition. Boade staked her claim among the nation's most clutch performers, as she netted the match's only goal in wins over then-No. 2 North Carolina and No. 1 Florida State while assisting on Cooper's overtime winner versus No. 15 Notre Dame.
Sophie Jones lands on the Best XI Second Team for the second consecutive season, becoming the third Blue Devil to earn the honor twice (KayAnne Gummersall, 2008-09; Christina Gibbons, 2015-16). The crafty midfielder from Menlo Park, Calif., started all 21 matches and logged 1,569 minutes, including a five-match streak of 90+ minutes played from Sept. 17-Oct. 7. Jones recorded her first assist of the season in Duke's win over St. John's in the NCAA Championship Round of 16 on Nov. 21. She was named to the All-ACC Second Team, picking up all-conference accolades for the second straight year.
Duke now owns 15 Best XI selections since 2008, with 12 players named to a Best XI squad in that span. The Blue Devils have had at least one Best XI honoree in six of the last seven seasons.
For more information on Duke women's soccer, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching 'DukeWSOC.'
#GoDuke
Michelle Cooper was named the Freshman of the Year and landed on the Freshman Best XI Team, while junior goalkeeper Ruthie Jones was tapped to the Best XI First Team. Fellow junior Sophie Jones and graduate student Tess Boade each earned second-team recognition, marking Duke's most TopDrawerSoccer.com postseason accolades since 2017 (four Best XI, one Freshman Best XI selections).
Tuesday's Freshman of the Year award comes as the latest honor in a highly decorated season for Cooper, who is currently taking part in the U.S. U-20 Women's National Team year-end camp. The ACC Freshman of the Year and United Soccer Coaches first-team All-American put together a season for the ages in Durham, scoring 12 goals with five assists for 29 points in just 18 matches. Her goal total set a Duke freshman record and tied for second among freshmen nationally, while her 1.61 points per game ranked 23rd nationally and second in the ACC.
She becomes the second player in program history to be named the TopDrawerSoccer.com Freshman of the Year, joining Cassie Pecht in 2012. Duke has been represented by 11 players on the Best XI Freshman Team since its inception in 2008.
In her second season as the team's starting goalkeeper, Jones emerged as one of the top players in the nation at her position. The first-team All-ACC pick posted a 0.59 goals against average – the best mark in the conference and 13th-best nationally – while her nine complete-game shutouts tied for the league lead. Jones recorded 46 saves to just 12 goals against for the second-best save percentage in the ACC (.793). The Charlotte, N.C., native was a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and earned a spot on the United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Region Second Team.
Boade caps off her memorable career at Duke with second-team Best XI honors after registering career highs in goals (8), assists (5) and points (21) this fall. The team captain was twice named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 21, Oct. 26) and scored five game-winning goals on the way to earning first-team All-ACC recognition. Boade staked her claim among the nation's most clutch performers, as she netted the match's only goal in wins over then-No. 2 North Carolina and No. 1 Florida State while assisting on Cooper's overtime winner versus No. 15 Notre Dame.
Sophie Jones lands on the Best XI Second Team for the second consecutive season, becoming the third Blue Devil to earn the honor twice (KayAnne Gummersall, 2008-09; Christina Gibbons, 2015-16). The crafty midfielder from Menlo Park, Calif., started all 21 matches and logged 1,569 minutes, including a five-match streak of 90+ minutes played from Sept. 17-Oct. 7. Jones recorded her first assist of the season in Duke's win over St. John's in the NCAA Championship Round of 16 on Nov. 21. She was named to the All-ACC Second Team, picking up all-conference accolades for the second straight year.
Duke now owns 15 Best XI selections since 2008, with 12 players named to a Best XI squad in that span. The Blue Devils have had at least one Best XI honoree in six of the last seven seasons.
For more information on Duke women's soccer, follow the Blue Devils on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook by searching 'DukeWSOC.'
#GoDuke
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