CARSON, Calif. – The Chico State women’s soccer team may have deserved more honorees on the 2007 All-California Collegiate Athletic Association team, released Thursday evening, but they honors that were bestowed upon the Wildcats could not have been much more prestigious. Katherine Bagwell earned CCAA Player of the Year honors, Head Coach Kim Sutton was named the conference’s Coach of the Year, Ashley Gunther was named First Team All-CCAA, and Whitney MacDonald earned Second Team honors. Abby Stretch was an Honorable Mention selection.
That only three Chico State players were tabbed First or Second Team All-CCAA was a bit of a disappointment to a Wildcats squad that clinched the top seed in this weekend’s CCAA Championship Tournament. After all, UC San Diego had six players honored, Cal Poly Pomona four, and Cal State L.A. four, despite the fact that those teams all finished behind the Wildcats in the CCAA standings.
Nevertheless, the honors the Wildcats did receive were prestigious. Bagwell is the first Chico State player to earn CCAA Player of the Year honors since the University joined the CCAA to start the 1998-99 school year. Tina Manfre (1992) and Stacie Riley (1997) are the only other Chico State women’s soccer players who have earned Conference Player of the Year honors. Bagwell led the CCAA with eight assists and finished fourth in the conference with seven goals.
Sutton’s Coach of the Year honor is her second in the past four seasons. She directed a team that lost 10 players to graduation, including the entire starting defensive third, to the top seed in the CCAA Championship Tournament for the first time ever.
Gunther’s First Team honor was well deserved. The senior provided the motor in the middle of the field for the Wildcats all season long, while notching a goal and three assists.
MacDonald, meanwhile, stepped into a starting defensive role for the first time in this, her senior season, and helped make Chico State’s defense one of the stingiest in the conference. The Wildcats allowed just 10 goals in 14 CCAA matches. She was also a threat on offense, netting a pair of assists.
Stretch notched two goals and two assists in what was a down year offensively for the junior. However, the 2006 Second Team All-CCAA selection was once again a force in the middle of Chico State’s attack.
Two of the most glaring omissions on the team are goaltender Kari Gonzales, who boasted nine shutouts and a 0.61 goals against average, and forward Melissa Lindsay, who finished fourth in the CCAA with seven goals.
Chico State opens CCAA Championship Tournament play today at 1:30 p.m. against tournament host Cal State Dominguez Hills. The winner of that match will face the Cal State L.A. – UC San Diego winner in the conference championship match Sunday at 11:30.
2007 CCAA WOMEN’S SOCCER ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
Most Valuable Player: Katherine Bagwell (Chico State)
Freshman of the Year: Lisa Bradley (UC San Diego)
Newcomer of the Year: Yvonne Vasquez (Cal State Dominguez Hills)
Coach of the Year: Kim Sutton (Chico State)
FIRST TEAM
Jessica McGovern UC San Diego GK JR Reseda, Calif.
Alie Avina UC San Diego D SR Somis, Calif.
Christine Duff Cal State L.A. D JR Elk Grove, Calif.
Sandra Lloyd Cal State Dominguez Hills D SR Fountain Valley, Calif.
Natasha Belak-Berger UC San Diego MF JR Thousand Oaks, Calif.
Ashley Gunther Chico State MF SR Long Beach, Calif.
Allison Lawrence Humboldt State MF SO San Diego, Calif.
Katherine Bagwell Chico State AL SR Beaverton, Ore.
Kim Carroll Humboldt State AL FR Santa Rosa, Calif.
Cherie Early Cal State Stanislaus AL SR Manteca, Calif.
Khadijah Greenwood Cal State L.A. AL JR Quartz Hill, Calif.
Corrie Hirokawa Cal State Dominguez Hills AL SR Torrance, Calif.
Ali Lai UC San Diego AL SR Danville, Calif.
Erika Prado Cal State L.A. AL SR West Covina, Calif.
Yvonne Vasquez Cal State Dominguez Hills AL SR Norwalk, Calif.
SECOND TEAM
Reyna Coca Cal State L.A. GK SR Albuquerque, N.M.
Kylie Duszynski Cal Poly Pomona D JR Lake Forest, Calif.
Amanda Esquivel UC San Diego D JR San Diego, Calif.
Whitney MacDonald Chico State D SR Huntington Beach, Calif.
Pamela Leyva Cal Poly Pomona MF JR Indio, Calif.
Jennifer Lu Cal Poly Pomona MF FR Foster City, Calif.
Brittany Peterson Sonoma State MF JR Windsor, Calif.
Robin Bowman San Francisco State AL JR San Francisco, Calif.
Mary Carroll Cal Poly Pomona AL SO Upland, Calif.
Lindsay Catton Sonoma State AL SO Rohnert Park, Calif.
Morgan Davison San Francisco State AL JR Arlington, Va.
Katie Liby Cal State San Bernardino AL FR Redland, Calif.
Melissa Phillips Cal State Sanislaus AL JR Roseville, Calif.
Leslie Rhodes Cal State San Bernardino AL SR Riverside, Calif.
Caitlin Ryan UC San Diego AL SR Chula Vista, Calif.
Honorable Mention: CPP: Stephanie Mrazik. CSUSB: Ashley Salas. CSUDH: Alyssa Congdon, Jennifer Jimenez, Kelly Matosian. CSULA: Jennifer Schafer, Dana Menard. CSUMB: Sara Alderson. CSUC: Abby Stretch. CSUS: Bri McClain. SFSU: Emily Hart, Rachel Brusnahan Lauren Candia. SSU: Laura Perry, Tracy Webster.
