WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ – The six-time defending Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Regular Season Champion Monmouth University women's soccer team had a total of 14 All-MAAC honorees, it was announced on Tuesday morning.

"We had a terrific regular season and that is a credit to our players," head coach Krissy Turner said. "For the coaches in the league to recognize the amazing talent we have in our program is awesome. While we are very proud of these individual accolades, it was a complete team effort to win the regular season title and it will take a tremendous team performance to advance to the final."

For the second consecutive year, Monmouth had three major award winners as Madie Gibson was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year, Jessica Johnson was chosen as the Defensive Player of the Year and Jill Conklin earned the Rookie of the Year award.

The trio of Gibson, Johnson and Conklin were three of Monmouth's program-record seven All-MAAC First Team selections and were joined by midfielders Alli DeLuca and Lexie Palladino, as well as defenders Anna Lazur and Sarina Jones. Goalkeeper Amanda Knaub was a second team All-MAAC honoree, while Conklin, A'Liah Moore and Jesi Rossman landed on the MAAC All-Rookie Team. Monmouth's 14 all-league awards were the most since the 2016 team also boasted a league-high 14 honorees.

In its six seasons in the MAAC, Monmouth has had 59 all-conference selections and 14 major award winners.

Gibson, a three-time First Team All-MAAC selection and the 2016 MAAC Rookie of the Year, was named the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year for the first time in her career. Gibson totaled six goals and six assists on the season, and her 18 points were second on the Hawks. Five of Gibson's goals came against MAAC opponents and she also had two game-winning goals, at Seton Hall and against Saint Peter's. Gibson is the third Monmouth player to earn the MAAC Offensive Player of the Year award, along with Dana Costello (2013) and Alexis McTamney (2015, 2016).

Johnson is Monmouth's third MAAC Defensive Player of the Year, joining Gabriella Cuevas (2017) and Alexa Freguletti (2014). The junior back has led the top defensive unit in the MAAC to 11 shutouts, which is tied for 11^th in the NCAA. As a team, Monmouth's defense has combined to post a 0.379 goals-against average, the best figure in the conference and fifth in the country. Individually, Johnson has started every game for the Hawks in 2018 and has contributed one goal and four assists on the year. Her six points are a new season high and her goal was the decisive one in a 1-0 road win at Marist.

Monmouth boasts the MAAC Rookie of the Year for the fourth time in six seasons as Jill Conklin was voted by the league's head coaches. Conklin Joins McTamney (2013), Rachelle Ross (2014) and Gibson (2016) on the list of Hawks to collect the honor. The midfielder scored three goals and handed out five assists and was a key piece of Monmouth's defensive efforts. Conklin started every game for the Hawks and scored the game-winning goal in Monmouth's victory at Delaware early in the year.

DeLuca caps off her career with her fourth All-MAAC selection and her second First Team All-MAAC award in as many years. The senior midfielder led Monmouth in scoring with eight goals and 21 points and started every game in 2018. DeLuca scored game-winning goals against Bucknell, Canisius and Iona and scored her first-career hat trick against the Gaels.

Junior midfielder Lexie Palladino joins DeLuca on the First Team with her first-career All-MAAC selection. Palladino was tied for second on the team with six goals and was third on the team with 16 points. She scored game-winners at Rutgers and against Siena and had a two-goal effort against Saint Peter's.  

Lazur and Jones rounded out Monmouth's First Team honorees after both started all 18 games on Monmouth's back line. Lazur, a junior, collects her third All-MAAC recognition and Jones, a sophomore, adds to her personal accolades after being chosen to the All-Rookie team in 2017.

Knaub was named to the All-MAAC Second Team following a terrific junior campaign in which ranked 11th in the NCAA in shutouts with nine on the year. Her goals-against average (0.345) also ranks fourth in the NCAA and she is eighth in the country in save percentage (.900). Knaub was an All-Rookie and Second Team choice in 2016 and a First Team choice last season in addition to her Goalkeeper of the Year recognition. Statistically, Knaub is on pace to have her best season in terms of goals allowed (6), goals-against average (0.345) and save percentage (.900).

Alongside Conklin, Moore and Rossman's All-Rookie Team selections gave the Hawks a total of 14 all-conference awards. Moore played in 16 games and contributed four goals and one assist, all of which came against MAAC opponents. Rossman started every game on defense for Monmouth and also scored one goal and added an assist during her freshman campaign. Her goal was the game-winner in Monmouth's victory at Fairfield.

The MAAC also announced its 2018 MAAC Women's Soccer All-Academic Team on Monday. A total of 147 athletes comprise the 2018 All-Academic Team. To be eligible for the MAAC All-Academic Team, a student-athlete must complete two semesters at their institution and hold a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 on a 4.0 scale. Monmouth placed 13 student-athletes on the list.

Christina Balacco Jr. Business Marketing and Management (3-time honoree)
LeAnne Davis Jr. Health Studies (3-time honoree)
Ashley DellaPietro So. Business Marketing
Alli DeLuca Sr. Communication
Deanna Graziani Jr. Health Studies (2-time honoree)
Jessica Johnson Jr. Social Work (2-time honoree)
Sarina Jones So. Health Studies
Amanda Knaub So. Criminal Justice (2-time honoree)
Anna Lazur Jr. Health Studies (2-time honoree)
Megan Leffler So. Health Studies
Dana Scheriff Jr. Health Studies (2-time honoree)
Britt Van Lenten So. Political Science
Esther Wellman So. Political Science (2-time honoree)