Nov. 3, 2009

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Florida State sophomore forward Tiffany McCarty and North Carolina senior defender Whitney Engen head up the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Women’s Soccer Team, as announced today by Commissioner John D. Swofford.

McCarty was selected ACC Offensive Player of the Year in a vote of the league’s head coaches, while Engen was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

In addition, Boston College forward Victoria DiMartino was voted ACC Freshman of the Year, and Florida State’s Mark Krikorian received the nod as Coach of the Year.

McCarty, the 2008 ACC Freshman of the Year, currently leads the conference in points (36) and goals scored (15). McCarty is a major reason Florida State (14-3-1 overall, 7-2-1 ACC) earned a share of first place in the final regular-season standings and will enter this week’s ACC Women’s Soccer Championship at Cary, N.C., as a No. 1 seed.

Engen anchors the back line for a North Carolina defense that has posted 11 shutouts and allowed a total of 10 goals in 18 matches. Engen was named Defensive MVP of the St. Mary’s Soccer Classic after leading the Tar Heels to back-to-back shutout wins over second-ranked Notre Dame and Marquette, and later earned Defensive MVP honors in the Duke Nike Classic.

DiMartino made a big first impression as Boston College (15-2-1, 7-2-1) tied FSU for the top spot in the ACC. DiMartino ranks second in the conference in points (32) and goals (14). She joins sister Gina DiMartino – now a senior and a 2009 second-team All-ACC selection – in becoming the first siblings to earn the ACC Freshman of the Year honors. Gina DiMartino was selected in 2006.

The ACC Coach of the Year selection is the second for Florida State’s Krikorian, who was also named in 2005. Under Krikorian’s watch, the third-ranked Seminoles have defeated seven fellow ranked teams this season, including four Top-10 opponents. Krikorian has led the Seminoles to an 80-27-12 record in five season at the helm, including a 34-9-7 mark in ACC play. Krikorian owns an overall record of 255-69-18 in 16 years as a head coach.

McCarty, Engen and Victoria DiMartino are joined on the All-ACC first team by a pair of three-time first-team selections in North Carolina’s Tobin Heath and Virginia’s Sinead Farrelly. Overall, the 2009 All-ACC first and second teams feature 10 student-athletes who were first- or second-team All-ACC selections last season.

Boston College and North Carolina each placed two student-athletes on the ACC All-Freshmen team. Seven other schools had one selection apiece.

The 2009 ACC Championship gets under way in Cary, N.C. with four quarterfinal matches on Wednesday. Semifinals are set for Friday evening, with the finals on Sunday at 2 p.m.