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Three Women's Soccer Players Named All-C-USA; Mikami Named Offensive Player of the Year
Nov. 1, 2005 Houston, Texas - Junior forward Shoko Mikami, who led Conference USA in goals, assists, and points during the regular season, was named the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year and Asuka Kubota and Kylie Hayes were each named to an all-conference team as well, it was announced by the conference office on Tuesday. Conference awards were released prior to the start of the Conference USA Tournament on Wednesday. Shoko Mikami, who was also named first team All-C-USA, is the first ever player from Memphis to win the Offensive Player of the Year award. She tied for the league lead this year in goals with 14 and by herself led the conference in assists with 10 and points with 38. She is currently just three points shy of breaking the school record for points in a season, which is 40 and held by Jessica Gjertsen ,who did it in 2000. Mikami is also five goals short of breaking the school record for most goals in a season, which is 18 and also held by Gjertsen. Mikami sits in second place on both of those lists. With a string of five assists in the last three games, Mikami also vaulted into the conference lead for assists and is now third all-time in school history for assists in a season, just three short of breaking the record of 12 that is held by Christy Caswell, who set it in 1996. The leading goal scorer and point producer in Division II in 2003 while playing at Christian Brothers University, Mikami has been ranked among the top 20 in the country in both goals and points per game all season. Asuka Kubota, a sophomore midfielder in her first year with the program, was named to the all-conference second team as a midfielder. Kubota, who was an NAIA All-American last year at Martin Methodist College, was second on the team in assists with seven and third on the team in goals with five. She was also third in points with 17. Her seven assists ranked third in C-USA and she was fourth in assists per game. Her best came of the year was probably the first, as she recorded two goals and two assists in Memphis' season-opening 7-0 win over Tennessee Tech. Kylie Hayes had one of the best seasons ever for a freshman at Memphis and for her efforts was named to the league's All-Freshman team. One of just three players to start all 18 games this year, Hayes was second on the team in goals with 12 and points with 29. She was ranked fifth in C-USA in points per game, sixth in points, and seventh in goals per game and goals. She was also fourth in the team in assists with five. Earlier this year, Hayes set a school record by recording a goal in six straight games, breaking the old mark of four consecutive. She was also ranked in the top 20 nationally in goals per game earlier this year. Her 29 points on the season make her tied for third all-time for points in a season, behind only Mikami and Gjertsen. Only Gjertsen's 18-goal, 40-point freshman season in 2000 was statistically better than Hayes' freshman year this year. This was the third straight year that Memphis has had at least one first team All-C-USA selection. Mikami follows Leanne McGee last year and Yuiko Konno in 2003 as Memphis first team all-conference honorees from the last three seasons. It is also the second straight year that the Tigers have had at least one selection to the All-Freshman team, as Hayes follows Natalie Haerens and Carla Scanniello, who were named to the All-Freshman team a year ago. The Tigers will play the UTEP Miners at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow in the Conference USA Tournament. 2005 C-USA AWARDS
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Memphis Tigers
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