TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida State’s Kassey Kallman was recognized as one of the best defenders in the nation on Thursday when the senior captain became the first Seminole in school history to earn ACC Defensive Player of the Year accolades.
Kallman was one of six Seminoles to garner All-ACC honors as announced by the league office on Thursday, November 7 and voted on by the league’s 14 head coaches.
Dagny Brynjarsdottir and Kallman were named to the All-ACC first team, while Megan Campbell, Kristin Grubka and Kelsey Wys earned All-ACC second team accolades. Nickolette Driesse claimed a spot on the All-ACC Freshman Team.
Kallman has started every game in the backline in 2013 and ranks second on the team in minutes played. She, along Campbell, Grubka and Wys, are part of the Seminole backline that ranks in the top 25 nationally in goals against average (11th) and save percentage (24th), while their 11 shutouts are the third most in the ACC.
The Woodbury, Minn., native joins an elite group of Seminoles to be named Player of the Year by the ACC joining Mami Yamaguchi and Tiffany McCarty who earned the league’s Offensive Player of the Year award in 2007 and 2009, respectively.
Kallman and Wys garnered all-conference honors for the third time in their career, while Kallman was named to the All-ACC first team for the second straight year. Brynjarsdottir was named an All-ACC honoree for the second year in a row as it marked her first selection as a first team member. The second team accolade for both Campbell and Grubka are the first of their careers.
Brynjarsdottir is having an outstanding junior season in which she leads the team in points (21), goals (9), shots (47) and game-winning goals (5). The Icelandic native currently ranks in the top 15 in the ACC in four offensive categories. Her nine goals on the year match a season-high from her sophomore season, while her five game-winning goals in 2013 ties a single-season career-high.
Along with their play on the defensive side of the ball, both Campbell and Grubka have also contributed on the offensive side as well. Campbell leads the team in assists with seven as six came against league foes to set a single-season school record. Campbell, a native of Louth, Ireland, ranks fourth in the ACC in assists per game (0.41). Grubka has four points on the year with a pair of goals has both goals came against Duke including the game-winner inside Koskinen Stadium to give the Seminoles their first-ever victory in Durham.
Wys is having another spectacular season in goal for Florida State as the redshirt senior goalkeeper has played every minute between the posts. Wys has allowed just 11 goals in over 1800 minutes on the pitch en route to a goals against average of 0.53. The Coral Springs, Fla., native has registered 51 saves and posted 11 shutouts on the year.
Driesse is the only Seminole freshmen to play in all 20 matches heading into the ACC semifinals on Friday. The Wayne, N.J., native sits tied for third on the team with five assists with three resulting in game-winners. She has tallied over 1500 minutes on the pitch in her first collegiate season.
Florida State and Virginia led all schools with six All-ACC selections, followed by Boston College, Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, who each earned four all-conference honors.
Florida State is back in action on Friday, November 8 at 8:00 p.m. against North Carolina in the ACC Women’s Soccer Championship semifinals. The match will be played at WakeMed Park in Cary, N.C. and will air live on ESPN3.
