Nov. 6, 2007
EL PASO, Texas. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Before the No. 1 seed UCF women's soccer team opens the first round of the Conference USA Championship Wednesday, the Knights received plenty of postseason accolades at the league's awards banquet Tuesday evening. Senior goalkeeper Jennifer Manis was selected as the C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, while junior forward Danielle Dos Santos picked up C-USA Newcomer of the Year honors.
UCF (12-3-3, 7-1-1) also had four student-athletes voted onto the All-C-USA teams, the most of any program in the league, as well as one player to the all-freshman squad. Manis, junior midfielder Hanna Wilde and sophomore defender Nikki Moore all secured a spot on the All-C-USA First Team and sophomore forward Yvonne George was selected to the All-C-USA Second Team. Meanwhile, Christina Petrucco represented UCF on the C-USA All-Freshman Team.
Manis played every minute in the UCF net, racking up seven shutouts, 91 saves, a 0.96 goals-against average and an .835 save percentage. In league games only, she led C-USA with six shutouts, a 0.52 GAA and an .898 save percentage. Manis' 91 overall saves rank tied for fifth on the UCF single-season chart. She opened the year with a 12-save effort vs. Minnesota (UCF won, 2-1), which was the 11th most in Knight history. Manis also was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week Oct. 15 for back-to-back shutouts vs. Tulsa and SMU.
Manis, a native of Pensacola, became the second Knight to earn C-USA's defensive award, as Courtney Baines also received the accolade in 2005.
Dos Santos transferred to UCF after spending two seasons with Lincoln Memorial University. She became the Knights' top reserve, coming off the bench to add a spark to the offense the entire season. Dos Santos played in all but one match, and accumulated four goals and four assists for 12 points. All four of those tallies came in C-USA games, which tied for seventh in the conference.
A native of Brazil, dos Santos posted eight points vs. SMU Oct. 14, which was one shy of the C-USA record for points in a match and two short of the UCF mark. In the 5-0 win, dos Santos recorded UCF's 33rd hat trick and added assists on the other two goals. She earned C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors and was named to the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week for that performance.
Wilde and Moore were both on the Preseason All-C-USA Team, and they met their expectations this season. Wilde held the UCF lead with 52 shots to rank tied for eighth in the league. She notched four goals and three assists for 11 points, making the start in all 18 matches. Wilde also had one game-winner and one game-tying goal.
Moore may have been a very important part of a UCF defense that allowed just 18 goals in 2007, but she also tallied one goal and five assists from her outside back position. Moore started all 18 games, helping the Knights post seven shutouts.
George, who did not have a point as a freshman last year, connected for eight goals, including three game-winners, and five assists for 21 points. Those 21 points rank in a tie for fourth in C-USA and she is seventh in goals scored. George tallied a goal in five-straight outings from Sept. 22-Oct. 12, and was selected as the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week twice.
Petrucco made 14 appearances with 10 starts in her first collegiate campaign. In those 14 games, UCF outscored opponents 30-16. Petrucco finished the regular season with 974 minutes played as the Knight defense gave up only 259 shots on the year.
The Knights, who were the C-USA regular-season co-champions, kick off the postseason Wednesday with a 2 p.m. ET showdown vs. No. 8 seed East Carolina in El Paso, Texas.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
UCF's Postseason Awards
Defensive Player of the Year
Jennifer Manis
Newcomer of the Year
Danielle Dos Santos
All-C-USA First Team
Jennifer Manis
Hanna Wilde
Nikki Moore
All-C-USA Second Team
Yvonne George
All-Freshman Team
Christina Petrucco