ALVA, Okla. – Junior goalkeeper Reyna Gonzalez already received the Great American Conference newcomer of the year award, along with all-team honorable mention. Those accolades, however, don’t stop there now, as the Liberal, Kansas, native has made the United Soccer Coaches third team All-Central Region.
"Reyna being named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region is a tremendous accomplishment, as they only take three goalkeepers from the region," said Head Coach Erik Solberg. "Her winning that award speaks on the performance she made, as it’s voted on by coaches from across the region, and only those who played us can vote. So, for her to win this award says what she meant to our team. I don't think we have the success this year if she doesn't play as big of a role as she did. It is a tremendous accomplishment that goes along with her newcomer of the year award and just shows what a great job she did between the posts this year."
Gonzalez completed one of the best seasons for a Northwestern goalkeeper. She finished the year with the second-best goal against average for an NWOSU goalkeeper with 1.64. In her first season with the Rangers she finished with a save percentage of .788. The Black and Red goalkeeper finished the season with 104 saves, which is the second in the GAC for the year along with 10 in Northwestern history for a season. The 5.78 saves per game she averaged was the second most in the Great American Conference this season. She received Goalkeeper of the week once this season closed at the end of October.
Gonzalez helped lead Northwestern in one of their best seasons in program history, as she finished with six wins, which puts her fifth in most wins for a goalie in a single season. The 7-10-1 record gives the program the most wins since joining Division II along with the 13 points the most conference points while in the Great American Conference.
"It is more motivation for us to continue to go forward," Solberg said. "It is a good way just to show what progress we made with this program in the past 12 months' tremendous accomplishment. As much credit as we can give to Reyna, the team deserves credit. If we were sitting at the bottom of the conference, like we were predicted to be, then we don't get these kind of awards and recognition. Great accomplishment and really proud of her to be recognized by the National Coaches Association, tremendous achievement."
Reader Comments(0)