CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – The Patriot League announced its end-of-year awards and the Navy women's soccer program was at the forefront of that discussion. The 2019 regular season champions and number one seed in this weekend's Patriot League Tournament, the Mids saw eight players earned All-Patriot League honors with Alex Jackson (Sr., Centennial, Colo.) and Kaitlynn Johns (Fr., Austin, Texas) leading the way as the league's 2019 Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, respectively.
 
Atop the standings at the end of the Patriot League regular season, Navy was atop the awards announcement with a league-high eight All-Patriot League honorees. Holy Cross and Loyola were second with five players earning accolades, while Army and Colgate had four each.
 
Headlined by Jackson and her Defensive Player of the Year nod, the 2019 All-Patriot League First Team had four Midshipmen on it with Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan (Jr., Diamond Bar, Calif.) selected as a forward, Cadie Higginson (Sr., New Orleans, La.) as a midfielder, Jackson as a defender and Sydney Fortson (Sr., Claremont, Calif.) as a goalkeeper. A pair of midfielders represented Navy on the All-Patriot League Second Team as Baseley McClaskey (Sr., Grand Junction, Colo.) and Victoria Tran (So., Clarksville, Md.) garnered league accolades for the second consecutive season. Two newcomers to the Mids' starting lineup this season were rewarded for their strong seasons as Jeana Freeman (Fr., Raleigh, N.C.) was chosen as one of three forwards on the All-Patriot League Third Team, while Avery Fries (So., Draper, Utah) was noted for her defensive acumen.
 
Both Jackson and Johns were honored by the league's coaches for their outstanding work as part of the Mids' lockdown defense. Through 19 regular season games Navy's defense has shut out its opposition 13 times. In league play, Jackson, Johns and the team's defense allowed just two goals in nine matchups. Nationally, Navy's 0.355 goals against average is fourth-lowest in the NCAA DI ranks. Due to the Mids' tight defending, opponents only average 7.1 shots per game with 2.6 shots on goal per contest.
 
Individually, Jackson repeated as the Patriot League's premier defender with top-notch work as the Mids' center back. Appearing in and starting in all 19 games, Jackson leads the team once again in playing time as she has seen 1,667 minutes of action. In addition to spearheading Navy's defensive backfield, Jackson is a dangerous weapon on offense for the Mids as she has added two goals and an assist when joining the attack.
 
In her first season of collegiate play, Johns has made a smooth transition appearing in all 19 regular season games for Navy. As one of the Mids' starting outside marking backs, John plays an important role in containing opponents' movement from the wings and potential crosses. Offensively, she assisted on Freeman's game-winning goal at Colgate on Sept. 21.
 
Three of Navy's All-Patriot League First Teamers are multi-time honorees with both Jackson (2nd in 2017, 1st in '18 and '19) and Fortson (1st in 2017, 3rd in '18 and 1st in '19) earning accolades on three occasions. Higginson rounds out this group of high achievers as she was selected to the first team in 2018. Already one of the most decorated goalkeepers in Navy history, Fortson has cemented her status in the program's record book with a standout senior campaign in 2019. Appearing in and starting 16 games for Navy this season, Fortson has allowed just seven goals in over 1,500 minutes of action for a 0.42 goals against average. She has a record of 12-2-2 with 10 individual shutouts and a 0.825 save percentage. Nationally, Fortson is 11th in total shutouts and 12th in GAA. All-time, she's won 40 games with 27 shutouts with a 0.78 goals against average for the Mids during her four years with the program.
 
Higginson, the team's starting defensive midfielder, is a talented two-way threat with a tenacious ability to defend, win the ball and immediate transition the action into Navy's offensive flow. On the field for 1,475 minutes and all 872 of Patriot League play, Higginson has provided the Mids with two goals and two assists during 16 games.
 
The fourth member of Navy's All-Patriot League First Team quartet is junior forward Kristina Dzhandzhapanyan. Suiting up for the Mids in all 19 games, Dzhandzhapanyan plays on the wing for Navy and is an asset with her touch on crosses into the box as illustrated by her four assists. Additionally, the California native has beat opposing goalkeepers with two goals this season.
 
Higginson's midfield mates, McClaskey and Tran both earned accolades on the All-Patriot League Second Team. A dynamic duo with diverse talents, McClaskey is known throughout the league for her skills to place free kicks and corner kicks either on the head of a teammate for an assist or in the back of the net for a goal, while Tran is a creative play-maker with the ability to dribble through traffic and find open teammates. The Mids' leading scorer, McClaskey has registered four goals with five assists in 19 games. She is now a two-time league honoree following her nod in 2018 to the All-PL First Team. Tran repeats her selection to the league's second team behind her strong sophomore performance in 2019. Playing in all 19 regular season contests for the Mids, she has scored two goals with an assist to her name.
 
The duo of Freeman and Fries rounds out Navy's list of All-Patriot League honorees as they both earned recognition on the third team. Freeman, a freshman forward has established herself in Navy's starting lineup with 17 starts over 19 games in 2019. She has aided the team's offense with one goal and two assists. Her two helpers were on game-winning goals at Colgate and at home against Lehigh. Likewise, Fries has added a goal and two assists in her first year as a starting defender for Navy. In Patriot League play, she has not left the field with 872 minutes of action.
 
Voting for the Patriot League All-League teams and major awards was conducted by League head coaches, who could not vote for their own student-athletes or themselves.
 
As the top seed in the 2019 Patriot League Tournament, Navy will play host to the semifinals and finals this weekend. Following quarterfinal action last night, Navy and the fourth seed Loyola will face-off in rematch from last week on Friday at 4 p.m. The second semifinal on 7 p.m. consists of the second-seed Holy Cross Crusaders and the third-seeded Army Black Knights. The winners of those two semifinals will advance to Sunday's Patriot League Championship game. Sunday's contest is set for a 1 p.m. at the Glenn Warner Soccer Facility.