ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The Empire 8 announced its end of the year conference award winners Friday, honoring an impressive eight members of the Ithaca women's soccer team. Seniors Anna Gray, Amanda Callanan and sophomore Kelsey King all earned first-team honors, with Gray also being named the Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year.

Along with Gray's top defensive honor, head coach Mindy Quigg and her assistants Jeff Long, Carrie Bonus, Sydney Masters, Lindsey Thut and Becca Salant earned the Empire 8 Co-Coaching Staff of the Year Award. This is the second-straight season Quigg and her assistants have won the award, and marks the sixth time in Quigg's career that she has earned the honor.

Goalkeeper Beth Coppolecchia was named to the All-Empire 8 Second Team, with seniors Meredith Jones, Ellyn Grant-Keane, junior Jessie Warren and freshman Taylor Baranowsky earning honorable mention. 

This year marks the second time that Gray has earned Empire 8 Defensive Player of the Year honors, following a selection in 2011. She has been an all-conference selection for three-straight seasons. This year, Gray has scored three goals and added two assists for eight points in 16 starts. She has guided an Ithaca defense to 12 shutouts in 2013, and has helped limit opponents to just five goals all season.

Callanan earned her second-straight first team selection in 2013. She has scored three goals in 14 starts this season, ranking fifth on the team with six points. All three of Callanan's goals were game winners. Callanan has recorded 41 points over four seasons with the Bombers. 

King leads the Bombers in nearly every offensive category, setting career highs with 10 goals and 21 points. King's goal total ranks second in the conference, while her 21 points rank third in the Empire 8. King, who has scored five game-winning goals, earned Offensive Player of the Week honors once this season.

Coppolecchia started every game for the Bombers this season, compiling a record of 14-2-0. She ranks first in the Empire 8 with a .326 goals-against-average and a .929 save percentage. She also ranks first in the conference with seven shutouts, and has been named Defensive Player of the Week three times in 2013.

Grant-Keane has earned conference recognition for three-straight seasons. She ranks second on the Bombers with 10 points, coming on three goals and four assists. Grant-Keane's four assists this season give her 29 for her career, tying the all-time Ithaca record. She was also named to the Empire 8 Sportswoman of the Year Team.

Jones has been an all-conference selection twice in her career, following an all-second team selection in 2011. Jones has been a mainstay on defense for the Bombers, helping Ithaca to 12 shutouts this season. Jones has one goal, a game winner, and one assist this season.

Warren ranks fourth on the Bombers with seven points this season. Warren, who was recently named to the District 3 NCAA Division III All-Academic Team, leads Ithaca with five assists. This season marks her first all-conference honor.

Baranowsky has started every game for the Bombers this season. She leads all freshmen on the team with five points, coming on two goals and one assist.

The Bombers are back in action on Saturday, Nov. 9 in the first round of the Empire 8 Playoffs. Ithaca takes on St. John Fisher at 11 a.m. in the first semifinal game at Carp Wood Field. 

 - Empire 8 Release -