By Brandon Burke, UT Martin Sports Information
MARTIN, Tenn. – On the eve of the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament’s Semifinal round – hosted by the #1 overall seeded University of Tennessee at Martin soccer squad – a quintet of Skyhawk performers were met with postseason admiration, two on the All-OVC 1st Team with three more on the 2nd Team plus All-Newcomer roster, announced on Thursday afternoon by league officials. Additionally, Kamryn Chappell becomes the fourth player in UTM history to be christened the conference Defensive Player of the Year, Parker Gelinas makes it back-to-back seasons of a Skyhawk heralded the Freshman of the Year, and 12th-year leader Phil McNamara was awarded the OVC Coach of the Year for the third time.
Capping off a sensational regular season in which the Skyhawks snagged their fifth all-time Ohio Valley Conference title behind a 6-2 league record, UTM will host the final two dates of the league tourney on Friday and Sunday aiming for the school’s third trip to the NCAA Tournament, having last accomplished that goal consecutively in the 2011 and 2012 campaigns.
The first of potentially two obstacles to that destination awaits on Friday at 4:00 p.m. from Skyhawk Field when UT Martin battles 5th-seeded Tennessee Tech in the Semi’s, hoping for a dish of revenge after a 2-1 double-overtime stunner at the hands of the Golden Eagles in their regular season meeting back on October 7th.
Receiving her first All-OVC 1st Team mention with the ultimate prize of the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year for good measure, Chappell continues to close out her fifth and final year on the field in style, the captain of a back line that surrendered the fewest amount of goals among all teams in the league. Joining Danielle Rogers (2009), Melissa Govea (2011), and Kaci Mitchell (2018) as fellow Skyhawks to land the DPOY distinction, Chappell enters her last postseason with 7,554 total minutes since 2017, starting 81 matches. One of three members on the roster to have been a part of two OVC regular season banners, Kamryn left the field for a total of nine minutes in 16 appearances this semester, playing a pivotal role in five shutouts and 10 wins overall since August. A product of Flushing, Michigan, the graduate student assisted on the lone goal of the match in the regular season finale at Morehead State, playing nearly 1,500 minutes this season alone, the highest number of anyone on the roster.
Another essential piece to the Skyhawks’ stellar defense this season, Gelinas joins Chappell on the all-conference 1st Team unit, following in Emely van der Vliet’s footsteps last spring by being chosen as the third player in school history to receive the league’s Freshman of the Year plaudit. Also chosen among the 12 first-year players in the conference to represent the All-OVC Newcomer squad, Gelinas sits just 15 minutes behind Chappell for the most on the already-deep roster, starting every match this fall. An in-state prospect from Germantown, Tenn., Parker has remained a constant figure in UTM’s boisterous and vigorous defense from the opening match over two months ago, one of the most influential figures in the conference’s best back line statistically.
Gaining all-conference significance for the third time in her decorated career – chosen as one of only two goalkeepers in all of the OVC to land an all-league spot – graduate Erica Myers makes the cut for the 2nd Team unit in back-to-back years after becoming UT Martin’s all-time shutouts leader in the regular season finale at Morehead State. Denying the opposing attackers a goal for the 22nd time over the past five years, the Skyhawks’ record books have increasingly featured more of Myers near the top of several categories this fall, already seeing more starts (81) and minutes played (7,825) than any other GK to compete for UTM. Hailing from Holland, Ohio, Erica zooms into her final postseason just three victories away from matching the program record with a grand total of 40, one of only two players in Skyhawk history to surpass the 300-save milestone after gathering 55 this semester. Myers’ .809 save percentage and .084 goals-against average both rank as the highest numbers in the Ohio Valley Conference this season, rewarded with a 2nd Team mention that puts another accolade on an exceptional tenure.
Accompanying Myers on the All-OVC 2nd Team while meeting the criteria for the All-Newcomer squad simultaneously, first-year forward Makayla Robinson made quite the positive impression across her debut campaign in Martin, starting every match without skipping a beat. Tallying nine points collectively – three goals and three assists to boot – Robinson wasted no time imprinting her mark on the roster by scoring the team’s first goal of the fall against Southern Illinois. Maintaining a level of consistency beyond her class, Makayla looks set to eclipse the 1,000-minute mark as an attacker in the upcoming OVC Tournament, railing off 23 shots in total thus far. A native of El Cajon, California, Robinson saw her most effective performance statistically in UTM’s second conference victory vs. Eastern Illinois, providing an assist and score on the final day of September.
Mirroring her true freshman classmate with a spot on the all-league Newcomer and 2nd Team rosters, Izzy Patterson closed out a profound regular season with an array of improving performances at the midfield position in OVC territory. Similarly to Robinson, Patterson started every contest on the 2021 slate while tacking on 23 shot attempts, the third-highest figure on the team. After notching the assist that led to Robinson’s season-opening strike, Izzy recorded her first collegiate goal in one of the most important matches of the year on October 10th, allowing the Skyhawks to rebound from their first conference loss with a 1-0 victory at SIUE, the team that ended the month tied with UTM for the top spot in the league. The St. Louis, Missouri inhabitant rammed in the game-winner at the 65-minute mark to ultimately nudge the Skyhawks one step closer to the top seed in the league bracket.
Following in the footsteps of his 2012 and 2018 accomplishments, Coach McNamara brings home the OVC’s Coach of the Year prize for the second time in the past four seasons after guiding the Skyhawks to their 1st-place league finish after being predicted 4th in the preseason poll nearly three months back. In the midst of his 12th year roaming the sidelines at Skyhawk Field, McNamara has assumed more victories than any prior UTM soccer coach with 114 and counting, holding 67 wins versus Ohio Valley Conference nemeses. Thursday’s awards unveiling marks the seventh time in McNamara’s 22-year coaching career receiving a Coach of the Year validation, taking the UT Martin program to places it previously had never been before prior to his arrival, capturing four regular season titles from the OVC along with two conference tournament trophies while spawning 33 all-conference caliber players since 2010.
#1-seeded UTM takes on Tennessee Tech in the OVC Semifinals on Friday evening at 4:00 p.m. Should the Skyhawks advance to the conference championship match, they will meet either 2nd-seeded SIUE or underdog 7th-seed Southeast Missouri State on Sunday afternoon – also at home – starting at 2:00. All postseason bouts will be broadcasted live via ESPN+.
The full list of 2021 all-conference members can be found below:
All-OVC 1st Team
GK – Andrea Leitner (Gr., Belmont)
F – MacKenzie Litzsinger (R-So., SIUE)
F – Lily Schnieders (So., SIUE)
F – Maria Haro (So., SIUE)
F – Chloe Smith (Jr., Tennessee Tech)
MF – Hailey Cole (So., Murray State)
MF – Andrea Frerker (Sr., SIUE)
MF – Alec Baumgardt (Fr., Austin Peay)
D – Kamryn Chappell (Gr., UT Martin)
D – Rachel Vernon (Sr., Belmont)
D – Parker Gelinas (Fr., UT Martin)
All-OVC 2nd Team
GK – Erica Myers (Gr., UT Martin)
F – Zenaya Barnes (Jr., Eastern Illinois)
F – Makayla Robinson (Fr., UT Martin)
MF – Maci Pekmezian (So., Belmont)
MF – Izzy Patterson (Fr., UT Martin)
MF – Kiana Khedoo (So., Southeast Missouri)
MF – Elizabeth Rater (Fr., Southeast Missouri)
MF – Meredith Nye (So., Tennessee Tech)
D – Izzy Heckman (Gr., Murray State)
D – Selma Askildsen (So., Tennessee Tech)
D – Sarah Haag (Fr., Eastern Illinois)
All-OVC Newcomer Team
F – Kaitlyn Nichols (Fr., SIUE)
F – Jenna Setters (Fr., Morehead State)
F – Makayla Robinson (Fr., UT Martin)
MF – Alec Baumgardt (Fr., Austin Peay)
MF – Elizabeth Rater (Fr., Southeast Missouri)
MF – Grace Cobb (Fr., SIUE)
MF – Izzy Patterson (Fr., UT Martin)
MF – Emily Payne (Fr., Tennessee Tech)
D – Parker Gelinas (Fr., UT Martin)
D – Morgan Bodker (Fr., Murray State)
D – Sarah Haag (Fr., Eastern Illinois)
D – Allison Brockelman (Fr., Belmont)
2021 OVC Forward of the Year – MacKenzie Litzsinger (R-So., SIUE)
2021 OVC Midfielder of the Year – Andrea Frerker (Sr., SIUE)
2021 OVC Defender of the Year – Kamryn Chappell (Gr., UT Martin)
2021 OVC Goalkeeper of the Year – Andrea Leitner (Gr., Belmont)
2021 OVC Freshman of the Year – Parker Gelinas (Fr., UT Martin)
2021 OVC Coach of the Year – Phil McNamara (UT Martin)
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information