Senior defender Christen Karniski was named Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the Big Ten, and she also nabbed a spot on the All-Big Ten first team.

Karniski’s partner in the backfield, freshman defender Emily Zurrer was named on the All-Freshmen team along with midfielder Marti Desjarlais.

The defense was the team’s strength all year long, and Karniski was the anchor in the backfield. She is the only Illini player to play in every minute of every game this year. She was also important on offense, as she scored one goal, and two out of her four assists were on game winning goals.

“Christen’s consistency has been the foundation of this program in the last four years,” said head coach Janet Rayfield. “People started to recognize what a significant contribution she was making to this team, and what a significant player she was in the conference. It’s that quiet impact that she’s had, and for her to be recognized as defensive player of the year shows how much appreciation the coaches in this conference have for what she’s done on this team”

Karniski was a second team selection in 2004, and was on the All-freshmen team in 2002. This year she was also Illinois’ Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree.

“Christen is just an unbelievable all-around person and athlete. She does well in every facet of life. Christen’s awards on this field are tremendous, but it’s what she does off the field that makes her a great representative of the Big Ten.”

The talented freshmen class of the Illini also impressed as two members, Zurrer and Desjarlais, were named to the All-freshmen team.

“The roles that those two were forced into were actually larger than what we would have expected them to have in the beginning of the season. They filled those roles exceptionally, and grew into them as the season wore on. It was a very talented all-freshmen team in the Big Ten, and for those two to be recognized, it is a good sign for our program.”

Zurrer had a prolific year, scoring two game-winning goals, and two assists. The freshmen from Vancouver was named to Soccer America’s Team of the week on Sept. 27, after her golden goal in overtime against No. 16 Wisconsin and an assist against Northwestern.

“Emily can be dangerous because of her size and her ability in the air. She’s also the one we put on their best player,” Rayfield said. “She’s been to contribute on both sides of the ball exceptionally and she continues to get better.”

Desjarlais was solid in the midfield, as she has started all 20 games this season, in only her first year. The three-time Wisconsin state player of the year scored two goals this season.

“Marti is an incredibly crafty and skillful player,” Rayfield said. “She continues to grow into a role of a playmaker. In the future you’re going to see an unbelievable playmaker, who is going to continue to be an impact for this program, an impact in this conference and hopefully nationally.”