The Sacramento State women’s soccer team has battled its way through the conference championship to make a second appearance in the NCAA College Cup while also receiving honors for performance this year on the field.

This season, nine Hornets were voted to the all-Big Sky conference team. Two players were named first team, four players were named second team, and three others made it onto the Honorable Mention list. For many of the payers it is their first time being selected to the team.

First team members are senior forward Leah Larot and senior midfielder Cori Shreve.

On the second team all-conference, the Hornets have junior keeper Savannah Abercrombie, sophomore midfielder Megan Burg, junior defender Shea Roberts and junior midfielder Laura Bahno.

And finally, the three players who were selected to the all-conference list as honorable mentions are senior defender Erin Tarantino, junior midfielder Elece McBride and sophomore midfielder Victoria Ramirez.

For many of the payers it is their first time being selected to the team.

Beyond players being honored, head coach Randy Dedini was named the 2010 Big Sky soccer Coach of the Year. His Hornet squad finished the season 9-10-1 overall and 4-3-0 in conference play and won the championship by defeating Northern Arizona University 1-0. He led the team to its second Big Sky Championship in four years as he received the same honor in 2007 when his team won the championship over Northern Colorado University 3-0.

Dedini said the vote of confidence from the other coaches in the conference was much appreciated but that he also couldn’t have done it without his staff.

“It is a great honor and I have great respect for all the coaches in the conference that voted me for this honor. At the same time I would also like to give a lot of credit to my assistant coaches,” Dedini said. “This is something you can’t do all by yourself. I had a lot of help from Maureen Whitney and Jenny Lawrence. This year I think I did a good job of letting them do their job, letting them coach and give their input.”

Dedini’s career record, which also includes this year’s standings, is 38-27-13, and in his four years as the head of the women’s program has never had a losing season. In his four seasons as coach, he has produced 19 first or second-team all-Big Sky selections, including offensive player of the year, Katie McCoy, in 2007.

As a first selection, Larot this season has started 19 of 20 games, while scoring 10 goals with one assist for a total of 21 points.

Dedini said Larot is a marvelous athlete and a team player in her four years with the program.

“She is a tremendous player. I am very happy for her because since she was a freshman she was worked extremely hard. She has always had a great attitude and she has always been great with her teammates,” Dedini said.

Larot said it was something really special to be named to the list of all-conference athletes this season.

“It is an honor and it is nice to receive recognition, but if I didn’t this season that would have been okay as well. I am just glad that I can be a representative for our team,” she said. “I know a lot of our girls deserve to be on all-conference list. So it is an honor for me to be recognized like that.”

Senior defender Cori Shreve has played in just 12 of the team’s games due to a knee injury at the University of the Pacific on Aug. 29. For Shreve, this is her second time being selected to the all-conference team. As a junior in 2009, she was a first team selection for the Hornets. Shreve played in all 18 games and tied for the team lead with points with eight, scoring three goals with two assists from the midfield.

Dedini said she stayed very positive and had the desire to make it back into the starting rotation.

“She went out injured in the UOP game and we thought we would be losing her for the season. She however stayed extremely positive,” Dedini said. “As a senior leader on the team, she didn’t let that affect what she could contribute to the team. She helped coach the players that were playing her position. She stayed on the track that she was going to come back and contribute to the overall team effort.”

For Shreve, this is her second time being named to the all-Big Sky conference. She first received the honor as a junior.

Shreve said she was proud to be a selection this year and it has been a difficult season for her.

“I feel that it is a great honor in such a competitive league with so many girls that have talent. So I really feel honored to be named first team,” Shreve said. “Even through my injury I persevered a lot and did as much as I could of the field. So guess all that hard work paid off.”

For the second team and honorable mention members of the team, their seasons are as follows.

Abercrombie played in all 20 games and has a 1.07 goals against average. Her record this season is 9-10-1 and in three seasons defending the net she has a career record of 24-19-7 with 23 shutouts.

Burg has played in 18 games while scoring three goals with two assists for a total of eight points.

Roberts has played in all 20 games and has one assist for one point. In her career as a Hornet, she has played in 37 games with a total of four points by way of one goal and two assists.

Bahno has played in 36 games in her Sac State career. In 2009, she sat out the season with a medical redshirt. This season Bahno played in all 20 games and earned a total of six points with two goals and two assists.

Tarantino has played and started in all 20 games this season and has one goal and two assists for a total of four points.

McBride has played in 20 games this season and has seven goals and one assist for a total of 15 points.

And finally for Ramirez this season, has played in 19 games and has one goal and three assists for a total of five points.

Dedini said the season’s outcome was an entire group effort and the awards reflect the time and concentration that each player put into the season.

“This is a team where it felt like a new hero was stepping up each week. It wasn’t one person that carried us through,” Dedini said. “It was multiple people. Like Elece McBride getting the conference tournament most valuable player. She stepped up for us at the right time and so there wasn’t just one player that helped to win the championship, it was an entire team effort.”

Matt Harrington can be reached at mharrington@statehornet