BW SOC-W Postseason Honors 2014-15 for front - web hz.jpg

Big West Announces 2014 Women's Soccer All-Conference

BW SOC-W Postseason Honors 2014-15 for front - web hz.jpg
2014 Women's Soccer All-Conference

Long Beach State dominated the 2014 Big West Women’s Soccer All-Conference individual awards as four of the six recipients are 49ers. Leading the pack was Ashley Gonzales with her selection as Freshman of the Year. Sophomore Mimi Rangel earned Midfielder of the Year honors along with senior teammate Taylor Nelson as Defensive Player of the Year and sophomore Ashton McKeown as Goalkeeper of the Year. Rebecca Wilson represented Cal State Fullerton in the individual awards as she became the third Titan to be named Offensive Player of the Year. Coach Demian Brown, who brought home Fullerton’s seventh all-time regular season title in 2014, claimed Coach of the Year accolades as he seeks back-to-back NCAA Tournament berths.

2014 #BigWestWSOC Postseason Honors



For the second year in a row, a Long Beach State representative received Freshman of the Year honors as Ashley Gonzales (Ontario, Calif./Chino Hills HS) earned the distinction for the 2014 campaign. The newcomer notched eight goals to lead all 49ers and added two assists for a team-leading 18 points, a figure which ranked fourth-best in the Big West. The freshman helped her team to four victories as her four game-winners paced the Beach and tied for best in conference. Her 18 points also ranked fifth among the league leaders. Gonzales is the third individual from the Beach to win the award after recipients in 2005 and 2013.
 
Long Beach State’s Mimi Rangel (Chino, Calif./Chino Hills HS) received her second Big West Conference accolade with Midfielder of the Year honors this season after being named Freshman of the Year in 2013. Rangel capped off the regular season with three goals and five assists for 11 points. While controlling the midfield, the sophomore started all 19 contests and led the team in assists and shots on goal (26). Her game-winner solidified a victory at Hawai‘i on Oct. 16.
 
Taylor Nelson (Garden Grove, Calif./Placentia HS) of Long Beach State dominated the backfield starting all 19 contests her senior campaign and scoring one goal for two points. In her four years at LBSU, Nelson played in 81 matches while recording 73 starts during her career. The defender enters this week’s Big West Tournament with career totals of four goals, eight assists and 16 points. The senior helped her squad to a No. 3 seed in the conference tournament while contributing to the 49ers’ league-best 0.80 goals against average.
 
Ashton McKeown (Huntington Beach, Calif./Calvary Chapel HS) became just the second 49er to be named Big West Goalkeeper of the Year after leading the conference in saves (80), shutouts (8) and minutes (1806:43). The sophomore owned an 8-6-5 overall record with a 4-2-2 record in league. The sophomore also helped the Beach to a league-best 0.80 goals against average while the 49ers allowed the fewest goals at 16. McKeown’s eight shutouts were the most of any team in the Big West this season. She also recorded a league second-best eight saves in a single game on Oct. 9 at Cal State Fullerton.
 
Junior Rebecca Wilson became the third Titan to be named Offensive Player of the Year after recording 10 goals and one assist for 21 points. While her goal total is second-best in league, Wilson helped the Titans to a league-high tying 13 goals in the conference portion of their schedule. Wilson returned to the pitch this season after missing the 2013 campaign due to injury and tallied nine more goals than her sophomore season and seven more than her freshman year. The junior went on a three-game scoring streak from Sept. 28 to Oct. 5 and recorded multiple scores in a single game twice this season. Wilson was also a two-time Big West Offensive Player of the Week honoree in 2014.
 
In his eighth year at the helm for Cal State Fullerton, Demian Brown claimed his third Big West Coach of the Year award after leading his squad to its seventh regular season title. With an 8-7-4 overall record and a 6-0-2 mark in league, the Titans clinched the No. 1 seed in the Big West Tournament after going unbeaten in conference action for the first time since 1996. Fullerton will make its ninth overall appearance – and fourth under Brown – in the conference tournament, seeking back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament. This marked the sixth time the Coach of the Year has hailed from the Titan program.
 
Two Big West Tournament participants led the way with three first-team all-conference recipients each from Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State. Cal Poly added two first-team selections alongside CSUN and UC Irvine. UC Riverside rounded out the selections with a recipient of its own. The first team consisted of four seniors, six juniors and three sophomores. Cal Poly’s Elise Krieghoff became a three-time first-team all-conference recipient while UC Irvine’s Laura McGrail, Cal State Fullerton’s Morgan Batcheller, Rangel and Nelson earned first-team status for the second time in their careers.
alt
alt

Related Stories

Related Videos