James, Manful Earn Player of the Year Awards as PSUAC Announces 2023 All-Conference Soccer Teams
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State University Athletic Conference announced its 2023 Men's and Women's Soccer All-Conference teams on Tuesday, honoring nearly 75 student-athletes for their on-field achievements during the regular season.
Top-seeds Penn State Mont Alto (women) and Penn State Brandywine (men) led the way with seven and nine honorees, respectively. Brandywine was also home to the Players of the Year for both sports, with Chris Manful replicating his feat from last season while Jess James picked up the honors for the first time on the women's side. Both players led their respective sports in goals scored and total points, with James finishing the season with 19 goals and 40 points while Manful added 26 goals and 59 total points.
On the men's side, Penn State New Kensington's Devin Murray shared Rookie of the Year honors with Penn State Hazleton's Angelo Paniagua while Mont Alto's Grace Lochner took home the women's award. Lochner finished the year second in goals scored and points in the PSUAC, while Murray was second in goals and points from his spot in the midfield. Paniagua led Hazleton's attack with eight goals on the year from the forward position.
Zoe Gannon, a first team All-Conference defender in 2022, took a step up and was named the PSUAC Women's Soccer Defender of the Year in 2023. Brandywine's Raymond Kelly was the Defender of the Year on the men's side. Gannon and Kelly each notched nine goals of their own from the back row, helping their teams attacks while also helping defend the goal.
PSUAC Coaches of the Year, like Manful, are also repeats from 2022. Mary Miller led Mont Alto to a 13-3-1 record, including a perfect 10-0 in PSUAC action to win her second straight award. New Kensington's Mark Duffield improved upon his team's record-breaking season in 2022, finishing 12-4-1 overall and 7-0-1 in the PSUAC. The finish is New Kensington's best ever, and the team advanced to its first PSUAC Men's Soccer Championship game.
Full PSUAC Men's and Women's Soccer awards are included in the links below. PSUAC All-Conference awards are nominated by individual campuses and then voted upon by PSUAC coaches and administrators.