April 13, 2008

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (BGSUFalcons.com) - Sophomores Samantha Bland and Colleen Kordan, junior Brianne Eisenhard and senior Danielle Cygan each earned most valuable player awards as the Bowling Green State University women's soccer team held its annual banquet on Saturday evening (April 12) at the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. Head coach Andy Richards and assistants Scott Gloden and Britt Anderson guided the 2007 version of the Falcons to an overall record of 10-9-3.

Senior Tiernay Tilford was the recipient of the "Fighting Falcon" award, while freshman Katie Stephenson earned the Leah Eggleton "Hustle" award. Sophomore Kaitlyn Kobe was named the team's most improved player.

Samantha Bland

The "Fighting Falcon" award winner is selected by the BGSU coaching staff, while the other awards are the result of voting by the team members.

Bland (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby H.S.) and Kordan (Strongsville, Ohio/Strongsville H.S.) shared the Falcons' MVP award on defense. The two players helped anchor a Falcon defensive unit that recorded seven shutouts in 2007, including three-straight shutouts in MAC play late in the regular season.

Bland and Kordan were two of four players to start all 22 matches for the Falcons in '07. Bland had four points on a pair of goals. She scored a goal in the regular-season game against Ball State, and headed home the tying goal with less than five minutes left in regulation in an eventual overtime win over Eastern Michigan in the MAC Tournament. Bland earns the team's defensive MVP award for the second consecutive year, having also captured it as a freshman in 2006.

Colleen Kordan

Kordan's lone point on the year was an assist on the winning goal at Miami, a goal that came in the second overtime. Kordan ended her season by being named to the MAC's All-Tournament Team.

Eisenhard (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota H.S.) was named the team's MVP in the midfield for the second-straight season. Eisenhard, like Kordan, was to the MAC's All-Tournament Team, and the junior also was named to the Academic All-Ohio First Team by the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association. She started every game in 2007, and scored her lone points of the season against arch-rival Toledo in the MAC Tournament's championship game (Nov. 11), blasting a free kick past a helpless Rocket `keeper.

Brianne Eisenhard

Cygan (North Royalton, Ohio/Padua H.S.) was named the Falcons' MVP on offense for the second consecutive year. She played in 21 games, making 16 starts, and had seven points on the year. Two of her three goals, including the game-winning score, came against Western Michigan, and she also found the back of the net in BG's victory at Kent State. Cygan's lone assist of the season came in the Falcons' come-from-behind win at UT to close the regular season.

Danielle Cygan

Tilford (Longmont, Colo./Longmont H.S.) earned the Leslie Dawley "Fighting Falcon" award. The award is given to a team member who, through words and actions, most accurately reflects the program's philosophy of 'Today I gave all that I have, for everything I left behind is gone forever.' It was renamed to honor former Falcon Dawley, who entered BGSU in the fall of 2002 and played with the team during that '02 season before passing away in November of that year.

Tilford was the fourth player to start all 22 matches in the 2007 season. She had three assists on the season, tying for third on the team in that category. Tilford picked up an assist against Wright State, and also had helpers in back-to-back games vs. Northern Illinois and WMU.

Kobe (Solon, Ohio/Solon H.S.) picked up the team's most-improved-player award. After playing in eight matches off the bench as a freshman in 2006, Kobe played in 19 contests in her sophomore campaign, making 11 starts. After playing in just two of the season's first five games, she saw action in each of the final 17 games of the year. Kobe's first collegiate start came in the regular-season matchup with Eastern Michigan in early October, and she started the final 11 matches of the year, helping the Falcons to a 6-3-2 record during that time.

Kaitlyn Kobe

Stephenson (Lexington, Ohio/Lexington H.S.) earned the team's Leah Eggleton "Hustle" award. The award is named after former Falcon Eggleton, a three-time winner of the honor. Stephenson played in 21 matches during her freshman campaign, scoring five points on a goal and three assists. She showed a flair for the dramatic, as she was involved in the scoring in each of the Falcons' first two overtime wins of the season. Stephenson's first collegiate goal was a 'Golden Goal,' coming in the win at Miami. Then, in the next game, she picked up the assist on Corbie Yee's OT winner vs. Ohio, with a pass that split two defenders and found an open Yee for a breakaway. Stephenson had an assist on another Yee goal, in the second half of the MAC Tournament's championship match vs. UT. Her other assist on the season came at Kent State.

In addition to handing out the individual awards, Richards and the Falcons reflected upon the 2007 season, honoring the team's four seniors, and looked ahead to the '08 campaign.

Katie Stephenson

The four seniors - Cygan, Tilford, Rachael Ross and Tiffany Hanson - had a chance to speak, and the team's 2008 captains, rising seniors Eisenhard and Susan Hunter, briefly spoke about the team's vision and plans for the upcoming fall season.

Cygan, Ross and Tilford helped the Falcons to MAC Tournament appearances in each of their four seasons, including three trips to the championship match and conference titles in both their freshman and sophomore years. That trio helped BGSU to the first MAC Tournament title in school history as freshmen in 2004. As sophomores, they helped the Brown and Orange to both the MAC's regular-season and tournament crowns in '05. Hansen, who played two years at BGSU after transferring from Louisville, helped the Falcons to a school-record 10 shutouts in 2006 and seven more in '07.

BGSU, as mentioned, posted an overall record of 10-9-3 in 2007, and Richards and Company went 6-5-0 in MAC play. The Falcons placed fourth in the MAC's regular-season standings, and advanced all the way to the championship game of the conference tournament for the fifth time in six years. The Falcons closed the 2007 season on a seven-match unbeaten streak.

BGSU WOMEN'S SOCCER - 2007 AWARDS
* MVP - DEFENSE: Samantha Bland and Colleen Kordan
* MVP - MIDFIELD: Brianne Eisenhard
* MVP - OFFENSE: Danielle Cygan
* MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Kaitlyn Kobe
* Leah Eggleton "HUSTLE" AWARD: Katie Stephenson
* Leslie Dawley "FIGHTING FALCON" AWARD: Tiernay Tilford