DAYTON (OH) — With an outright Atlantic 10 regular season title now in the books, Head Coach Mike Tucker can reflect on this year’s team and his ninth league season crown heading into the conference tournament. Now is also a great time for us to evaluate the regular season and provide our Flyer picks for All-Conference honors. Let’s break down each category and discuss their chances.

COACH OF THE YEAR
There’s always something to be said for winning the A10 regular season title in this horse race. It’s difficult to judge coaching outside of counting wins and losses. By capturing his first A10 season title since 2004 (ninth overall) and qualifying for a conference-record 14th consecutive A10 Tournament, Tucker has more success inside the league than any other coach. Sometimes that success breeds animosity however and those who win often are disliked. While the measuring stick for this award is only for the 2009 season, longevity and a winning tradition usually work against a candidate. The Flyers were picked to win the league and did exactly that. Tucker is deserving considering his projected starting 11 was compromised all season and his back line finished with the nation’s stingiest defense. Adding to that, Dayton finished the regular season as one of only two unbeatens out of 318 programs (#1 Stanford was the other).

But will the voters choose to spread the wealth and hold his long-term success against him? Perhaps. He’s our pick, but look for St. Bonaventure Head Coach and former Flyer assistant Manoj Khettry to receive major consideration. Khettry took over a Bonnie program with everything going against it — budgets, facilities, location, and a winning tradition — but finished in a third place tie in 2009 (#4 tourney seed). Charlotte Head Coach John Cullen had his team in the national rankings for the last half of the season, but finished behind Dayton in the standings in spite of the recognition.

Our Prediction: Mike Tucker

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
No one on the UD squad is contending for this award. Dayton had trouble scoring goals consistently all season; the goals either came in bunches or were non-existent. Coupled with the lack of goals, the scoring was spread out among several offensive players. Unlike 2007 when then-sophomore Mandi Back registered 14 goals en route to A10 Offensive POY, no one on this year’s team has the lofty stats — even though Back did lead the league in shots and shots per game. Expect Charlotte striker Whitney Weinraub to be the front-runner and repeat as O-POY. She led the conference in total points (13 goals, 7 assists) and is the most dynamically gifted (and dangerous) forward in the league. Her teammate Hailey Beam should also contend (10 goals, 10 assists).

Our Prediction: Whitney Weinraub

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
This award will go to someone on the nation’s peskiest defense, so it’s a waste of time to talk about other players from other league teams. Our pick is sophomore left fullback Kathleen Beljan and we think the voters will affirm. That’s not to say the others on the Flyer defense won’t get consideration. In fact, a case can be made for center back Kelsey Miller and right fullback Allison Giner. No one on the team or in the conference brings the full tool set of defending, offensive countering, and situational awareness as Beljan however. She also has one weapon no other defender in the league offers — enough speed to track down nearly any attacking player from three strides behind. Beljan is an amalgamation of several former Flyer defensive standouts. She has the tenacity of Sarah Walker, the speed of Beth McHugh, and the consistency of Leah Phelps. Not only is she the most talented defender in the league, but in the region as well. Beljan will become the sixth A10 Defender of the Year from UD in the last 10 seasons.

Our Prediction: Kathleen Beljan

GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
On paper, Flyer freshman Katherine Boone has the body of work to win. She posted the most shutouts in the league, protected the pipes on a defense with the nation’s best goals-against average, and played on the team that won the season title. We think that’s enough, but we don’t think it will impress the voters enough to choose her over goalkeeper Lauren Brown, a senior from second place Charlotte. Brown posted 13 shutouts on the season and most importantly isn’t a freshman. Freshmen rarely receive Player of the Year honors because of inherent biases in the voting. If you think I’m making this up, you must have forgotten the name of Emma Kurowski, the former A10 Player of the Year from UMass with half the goals scored in her senior year compared to Dayton’s freshman sensation Missy Gregg.

Our Prediction: Lauren Brown

ALL ROOKIE
Boone will make All-Rookie due to leading the conference in shutouts.

Titusville, NJ, product Colleen Williams should be a lock for the postseason All-Rookie squad. Finishing third in total points with four goals and team-leading nine assists, “Willy” showcased an innate ability to create something out of nothing throughout the season. Whether it was turning a corner and providing quality service in the box, or utilizing the dribble to open up space moving forward, Williams demonstrated strong foot work and upper body strength to shed defenders and make something happen. Better yet, Williams got better as the season progressed, turning into a go-to player in the final two weeks of the season.

Our Prediction: Boone, Williams

ALL CONFERENCE
With Beljan taking top defensive honors in the league, her name will obviously appear in the A10 First Team. The rest of the Flyer defense will receive serious consideration, though it could be difficult for the voters to put the entire back line on the First Team in the spirit of spreading the wealth. All are deserving however. Sophomore central defender Kelsey Miller should make the First Team, while right fullback Allison Giner will probably get relegated to Second Team (if at all) in lieu of these underlying forces. Giner is perhaps the most underrated defender in the A10 and has to share the spotlight with other All-Conference talents. Were she on another team, she’d be getting proper recognition.

Boone will make the Second Team if Charlotte’s Lauren Brown wins Goalkeeper of the Year and by default becomes a First Team Player. Overall, the Flyers should be well represented on defense.

The rest of the picks in the midfield and offense are more difficult. No one on the Flyer roster has fat stats to draw attention, but we like senior Lauren MacCormick to receive strong consideration for First Team All A10. Fellow senior Mandi Back is another option, but we prefer MacCormick because of her target forward ability and better strength up top. MacCormick provided a nice point of attack to get others involved in much the same way former A10 Offensive POY Reba Sedlacek proved to be a target player willing to push bodies around. She also dug out more loose balls. Back, a perennial First Team member, did not perform at the same level as previous years and could be on the outside looking in. It was a solid year for her, but not what some were expecting.

Both Back and MacCormick finished with eight goals and six assists, but Mac needed 35 fewer shots to make it happen.

Junior MF/F Kelly Blumenschein has an outside chance at the A10 Second Team, but is probably a long shot. Blumenschein registered four goals and six assists in the regular season.

A darkhorse for All-Conference honors is our other All-Rookie pick in Williams. In past years, freshmen have appeared on the A10 All-Conference Second Team and that’s a great spot for Williams sneak onto. There are a lot of quality midfielders and forwards in the A10 however and the spots go quickly.

Our Prediction:
First Team – Beljan, Miller, MacCormick
Second Team – Boone, Giner, Williams, Back