Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Announced by the United Soccer Coaches, the 2019 NCAA Division I Women's All-Atlantic Region Teams feature a pair of Virginia Tech Hokies, with goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn earning a spot on the First Team, while midfielder Emily Gray made the Third Team.
It marks the second straight season, and the sixth time in the past seven years, the Hokies have had at least two representatives on the regional team, as McGlynn and defender Kelsey Irwin were named last year. To see the full 2019 United Soccer Coaches all-region teams, CLICK HERE.
McGlynn continues to pile up the accolades and to etch her name alongside the best ever to play for the Hokies, regardless of position. With her selection last year, she joined Hope Handley (third team, 1995) as the school's only two goalkeepers to be named all-region and, this season, became just the third Hokie to be named to the first team – Murielle Tiernan (2014 & 2015) and Jazmine Reeves (2013).
McGlynn, who was voted the Hokies' first ever ACC All-Conference First Team goalkeeper in 2018, repeated as the league's top goalkeeper in 2019 after enjoying an even more successful season than her junior campaign. This year, she started all 19 matches and played every single minute in net (1,748:37), which continued her streak to a school record 5,255:20 consecutive minutes played (56 straight matches).
She stopped 76 shots for an 83.5 save percentage, which was the second-best mark ever in a single season at the school (Karen Crawley, 86.8, 1997). Meanwhile, her 0.772 goals allowed average was also second-best (Caroline Kelly, 0.69, 2014), her 10 shutouts were tied for second (Dayle Colpitts, 11, 2013) and her 12 wins were third all-time.
The Jacksonville, Florida native's career numbers place her in the top three for a career goalkeeper at the school, which includes a school record 32 shutouts and a 0.99 GAA. Her 41 wins, 7,014 minutes played (both most since 2013) and 79.4 save percentage (best since 1997) were second and her 297 saves were third (most since 2006).
Last year, she became just the fourth Tech player to ever be named All-ACC First Team and, with her repeat selection, she joined Tiernan as the only two Hokies to earn multiple First Team honors - Tiernan was a three-time choice from 2014-16.
McGlynn, who forewent her entire senior season at Sandalwood High School to play at Tech in the fall of 2016 and will graduate this December (in 3.5 years), was a 2019 Senior CLASS Award candidate (1 of 30), earned a school record five career ACC Player of the Week honors and was named a two-time ACC preseason First Team goalkeeper (2018-19).
Gray, who started and played in just 10 matches this season, was tabbed a Third Team midfielder by the coaches and earns her third career postseason accolade, as she was a 2018 All-ACC Freshman Team choice and an All-State Second Team selection. Despite missing the final nine matches, Gray still finished second on the team with four goals (second to Nicole Kozlova's five) and tied for second in points with 10, while she led the team with three game-winning goals.
The Sewell, New Jersey product enjoyed the best part of her season in a two-week stretch that helped the Hokies improve to a 9-0 start in 2019. At the Battle by the Beach in Wilmington, North Carolina, Gray scored her first of the year against the College of Charleston (Sept. 13) with her tally coming 4:57 into the contest, which held for the game winner in Tech's 1-0 win over the Cougars. It was the fastest goal scored by a Tech player since Tiernan found the back of the net in 2:27 in a match against Georgetown (Nov. 21, 2014).
Gray then equaled Kozlova's feat of scoring back-to-back game winners, when she tallied her second goal of 2019 against UNCW (Sept. 15) in the 26th minute of another 1-0 win over the Seahawks. With the performance, Gray was named the MVP of the tournament. She matched Kozlova again with a brace in Tech's 2-0 ACC home-opening win over Miami (Sept. 21), including another game winner.
With the efforts, Gray became the first Hokie to score goals in three straight matches since Tiernan, who scored in five straight from Sept. 19 through Oct. 8, 2015. She also became the first Tech player to score three straight game-winning goals since Tiernan, four straight from Sept. 24-Oct. 8, 2015. The two goals in ACC play tied for Tech's lead in goals with Irwin and Molly Feighan, while her two overall assists tied for the third-most for the Hokies.