NWC All-Conference teams named for soccer

Linfield’s men’s and women’s soccer teams combined for eight all-conference awards as the women ended the season third in the Northwest Conference standings and the men placed eighth.

The women were headlined by one first-team selection in senior Mia Curtaz. Curtaz played and started in 19 matches, scored two goals — one of them a game winner — recorded a 73.9% shot on goal percentage and played for a total of 1,591 minutes.

Three seniors in goalkeeper Alexa Fritz, defender Reese Jones and forward Lize Rendon received second-team honors. Fritz totaled 62 saves with a 77.5% save percentage and recorded eight shutouts. On the opposite end, Rendon scored five goals, one game winner and recorded a 60% shot on goal percentage. Jones scored two goals of her own.

Senior defender Jenna Stanley and sophomore forward Lena Caballero Uhtoff completed the list as third-team winners. Uhtoff scored four goals in 19 appearances and four starts, while Stanley notched five goals through 15 starts.

University of Puget Sound nearly ran away with the NWC top-tier awards, with Leila Hausia-Haugen (Offensive Player of the Year), Kate Short (Rookie of the Year) and Stephanie Cox (Coach of the Year) representing the Loggers after their second-place conference finish. Whitman’s Kiki Glorioso was named Defensive Player of the Year.

On the men’s side, two players were named to all-conference teams.

Senior defender Aedan Carroll and junior midfielder Ross Vargo were the nominees, both earning third-team honors. Carrol was a steady force, appearing and starting in 20 matches and playing a career high of 1,670 minutes. Vargo was a 10-game starter, scoring seven goals with a 45.8% shot on goal percentage.
NWC No. 1 Whitman swept the superlatives as Lucas McAllister (Offensive Player of the Year), Adrian Valencia (Defensive Player of the Year), Remy Marcks (Rookie of the Year) and Jose Cedeno (Coach of the Year) were honored after the team’s 13-0-3 record in conference play.