STEPHENVILLE – After a record-breaking season, Tarleton State Soccer earned four All-WAC honorees, the league office announced on Thursday.
For the first time in program history, multiple Texans earned postseason WAC awards. Juniors Mikayla Kendall and Kaitlyn Flanagan earned selections to the All-WAC Second Team. The duo earns the program’s first selection to an All-WAC First or Second Team. Freshmen Adelaide Wyrzynski and Kimberley Hjálmarsdóttir joins former Texan Mila Bettinelli as the only members of the Purple and White to be named to the All-WAC Freshman Team.
“We are really proud of these ladies being recognized for their hard work this fall,” said head coach Pete Cuadrado. “Each of these student-athletes have played key roles in our program’s successes on the field this year.”
Goalkeeper Kendall has established herself as one of the top goalkeepers in the WAC for yet another season. This year she has totaled 100 saves, the most in the conference and ranks 14th in the NCAA. She ranks 13th in the nation and second in the WAC with an .870 save percentage. The Orange, Calif., native is second among WAC goalies with 1550 minutes played (52nd in the nation) and six shutouts. She also has two combined shutouts with fellow keeper Rylie Bloomfield. Her 0.870 GAA is fourth in the league. The junior ranks ninth among active D1 goalies with 5.40 career saves per game. She is also 22nd with 286 total saves.
Flanagan has been an anchor in the Texan defense in each of her three seasons. Flanagan earns her first conference honor with the award. Flanagan is the program record holder for most minutes played with 4518 in her three seasons. This season she is one of three Texans to start all 19 games joining Kendall and Teeghan Dodd. The Villa Park, Calif. native, has played all 90 minutes in 12 matches this season. Flanagan scored her first two collegiate goals this season. Flanagan notched her first goal against Austin College on Aug. 22. She also tallied a goal against Southeastern Louisiana which both turned out to be the eventual game-winning goal.
Wyrzynski tallied a pair of goals in her rookie season in Stephenville. The Sydney, Australia native also recorded four assists, all coming in conference play. The freshman tied for the third most assists in WAC play and the most by a non-Utah Valley student-athlete. She also led the Texans with shots in league play posting 14, which ranks sixth in the conference.
Hjálmarsdóttir logged the most minutes by a Texan freshman this season and the fifth most by a Texan freshman in program history. The Akureyri, Iceland, native, tallied a pair of assists in her first season in the ‘Ville. Her first collegiate point came on Aug. 22 against Austin College. She added her second point with an assist a week later against Prairie View A&M. She fired 11 shots with three falling on goal.
The Texans will compete in their first WAC Championships starting on Sunday afternoon in Abilene, Texas at Elmer Gray Stadium. Tarleton will take on fourth-seeded California Baptist at 4 p.m. on Sunday in the quarterfinals. With a victory, the Texans will advance to the semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 4 p.m. against top-seeded Utah Valley.
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