MIAMI After the year both Middle Tennessee and North Texas had, it was only fitting.
The Sun Belt Conference womens soccer co-regular season champions took home a lot of hardware on Tuesday, as the All-Sun Belt teams were announced at a pre-tournament banquet on the eve of the Aropostale Sun Belt Womens Soccer Championships.
MT, the No. 1 seed in the tournament that begins on Wednesday at FIUs University Park, had five players selected to either the first or second team.
The Blue Raiders also loaded up on the individual awards, as senior forward Debs Brereton (Player of the Year), sophomore midfielder Lisa-Marie Woods (Newcomer of the Year) and Aston Rhoden (Co-Coach of the Year) were each honored.
North Texas, meanwhile, had four players receive All-Sun Belt honors while forward Heather Hutyra was named Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. Head coach John Hedlund was also tabbed Co-Coach of the Year.
Denver, which finished third just behind the two teams, had six All-Sun Belt selections, giving the top three schools 15 of the 22 All-Sun Belt standouts this year.
For MT, which won a share of its first-ever Sun Belt womens soccer title, the awards were certainly deserved.
Brereton leads the league in points (41), goals (16) and shots (74). The three-time Sun Belt Player of the Week is also second in game-winning goals (3) and assists (9).
Woods, meanwhile, earned Newcomer of the Year honors after a stellar regular season. A freshman All-American at Oakland University, Woods leads the league in assists per game (0.58) and has seven assists overall.
Rhoden, the 2003 Sun Belt Coach of the Year, led the Blue Raiders to a 12-4-1 record, including the programs first-ever win over perennial Sun Belt powerhouse Denver.
For North Texas, Hutyra earned the rookie award thanks to a strong offensive campaign. She ranks second on the team in goals and points and had a season-best five points in the Mean Green win over Valparaiso. She is also second in the league with 68 shots.
Brereton, Woods and Hutyra were all first-team All-Sun Belt picks. Joining the trio on the first team include North Texas Melinda Pina (midfielder), Caree Ridenour (defender), Denvers Lleane Grimditch (forward), Taryn Hemmings (forward), Jenna Billingsley (midfielder), Maggie Kirchhoff (defender), Western Kentuckys Jenny Dalby (defender), and South Alabamas Amber Angermeier (goalkeeper).
The second team includes MTs Laura Miguez (forward), Claire Ward (midfielder), Jessica Northcutt (defender), North Texas Krista Georgas, Denvers Laura Mann (midfielder), Danielle Wiley (goalkeeper), South Alabamas Heather Adamus (forward), Rebecca Kahn (midfielder), Louisiana-Lafayettes Lotte Rasmussen (forward), and WKUs Andrea Doogs (midfielder).
Defender Megan Meade was named second-team All-Sun Belt for tourney-host FIU.
Quarterfinal action begins at 10 a.m. (ET) on Wednesday, as No. 1 seed MT plays No. 8 Arkansas State. At 1 p.m., No. 4 FIU hosts No. 5 WKU. At 4 p.m., No. 2 North Texas meets No. 7 South Alabama.
The four-match day will conclude with a 7 p.m. matchup between No. 3 Denver and No. 6 UL Lafayette.
Semifinal action will begin at 4 p.m. on Thursday, while the championship match is slated for 1p.m. on Saturday.
Log on to for all tournament updates, including live stats, game recaps and box scores.
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ALL-SUN BELT NOTES
** Denver led all schools with six All-Sun Belt selections. The Pioneers had four first-team picks and two second-team selections. Middle Tennessee (5), North Texas (4), South Alabama (3) and Western Kentucky (2) also had multiple recipients.
** Middle Tennessees Aston Rhoden joins Jeff Hooker (Denver) as a two-time winner of Coach of the Year honors. North Texas coach John Hedlund, meanwhile, is a first-time recipient of the honor.
** Five of the 11 All-Sun Belt first-team members are either freshmen or sophomores.
** North Texas Melinda Pina is a three-time All-Sun Belt first-team member.
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ALL-SUN BELT CONFERENCE WOMENS SOCCER
1st Team
F Debs Brereton, Sr., Middle Tennessee
F Lleane Grimditch, So., Denver
F Taryn Hemmings, Fr., Denver
F Heather Hutyra, Fr., North Texas
MF Jenna Billingsley, Fr., Denver
MF Melinda Pina, Sr., North Texas
MF Lisa-Marie Woods, So., Middle Tennessee
D Jenny Dalby, Jr., Western Kentucky
D Maggie Kirchhoff, Sr., Denver
D Caree Ridenour, Sr., North Texas
GK Amber Angermeier, Sr., South Alabama
2nd Team
F Heather Adamus, Sr., South Alabama
F Laura Miguez, Sr., Middle Tennessee
F Lotte Rasmussen, Fr., Louisiana-Lafayette
MF Andrea Doogs, Sr., Western Kentucky
MF Rebecca Kahn, Jr., South Alabama
MF Laura Mann, So., Denver
MF Claire Ward, Jr., Middle Tennessee
D Krista Georgas, Sr., North Texas
D Megan Meade, Sr., Florida International
D Jessica Northcutt, Sr., Middle Tennessee
GK Danielle Wiley, So., Denver
Player of the Year: Debs Brereton, Middle Tennessee
Newcomer of the Year: Lisa-Marie Woods, Middle Tennessee
Freshman of the Year: Heather Hutyra, North Texas
Co-Coaches of the Year: Aston Rhoden, Middle Tennessee
John Hedlund, North Texas
-- SUN BELT CONFERENCE --