PORTLAND, Ore. – The Great Northwest Athletic Conference announced its women's soccer postseason awards on Tuesday afternoon where the Falcons were represented well, with Head Coach Arby Busey being named the GNAC Coach of the Year, Sophie Beadle as GNAC Player of the Year, and Taylor Krueger as GNAC Newcomer of the Year
Busey led the Falcons to a 12-2-5 overall record, including a spotless 9-0-5 in conference play. SPU captured its 10th GNAC women's soccer title with consistent quality throughout 2023. They closed out the regular season leading the conference with 95 points, 36 goals, 1.89 goals per game, and 23 assists.
Signature wins came on Sept. 16 when they beat then second-ranked Colorado School of Mines 2-1 on the road. Most recently, the team secured the conference title with a 2-0 shutout of Western Washington last Thursday.
The Falcons amassed six GNAC weekly awards, including Team of the Week honors on Sept. 23. SPU swept the weekly awards twice. 15 Falcons earned GNAC All-Academic Honors, led by Maya Parman's 4.0 GPA.
"We have enjoyed a really amazing fall together so far," head coach Arby Busey said. "These All-Conference awards reflect the great job our team did over the course of the regular season, and all of the hard work that every one of our women put in every day. To have so many individuals receive recognition is very rewarding, and shows the depth of our program, and how many people are involved in our success. We are so blessed to work with so many wonderful student-athletes and appreciate the contributions that they all make to each other.
Beadle was named the conference's Player of the Year as well as claiming First Team honors. She appeared in 15 matches, making 14 starts, and played 744 minutes. During that stretch, she dished out a conference-leading seven assists, had a goal against NNU on Sept. 28, and accrued nine points during 2023.
Krueger is the Newcomer of the Year and earned an Honorable Mention. She arrived at SPU from St. Louis Univ and made an immediate impact. She scored four goals, dished out three assists, and had 11 points in 2023. She was named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 18.
"Nice to see Sophie Beadle get recognized as the Player of the Year, especially after a difficult injury late in the season," Busey said. "She continues to make huge contributions to us as a leader and has been a big reason for our team's success. Taylor Krueger has been a really great addition to our program, and has been extremely reliable for us this fall! For her to be recognized as one of the Newcomers of the Year is awesome as it speaks both to the quality of her character in assimilating into our group, as well as our group's ability to add new members and help bring out their best."
Falcons that joined Beadle on the First Team are Jacqueline Blakeley, Lauren Snedeker, and Marissa Bankey. Blakeley has been an elite scorer for the Falcons for all of 2023. She's racked up seven goals, the most in the GNAC. She added two assists for 16 points. Blakeley picked up the GNAC Offense Player of the Week award yesterday for her game-winning goal against Western Washington.
Snedeker's been an anchor for the Falcons this season. She's started all 19 games, playing 1,661 minutes. She's scored two goals and had two assists for six total points. Like Snedeker, Bankey has started all 19 games and has played 1,280 minutes. Bankey has three goals, including a game-winner against Central Washington on Sept. 30.
Mercedes Cullen has been superb in goal for the Falcons and has earned Second Team All-GNAC honors. Cullen is undefeated in matches she's started, with a 9-0-4 record. She's faced 139 shots, making 54 saves for a .844 save percentage.
Joining Krueger as GNAC Honorable Mentions are Lauren Forster, Chloe Gellhaus, and Kathryn Nyone. Forster's played 868 minutes, and has contributed two goals, two assists, and six points.
Gellhaus has appeared in 12 matches and played 623 minutes. She scored the game-winner against Westminster and added another goal against Western Oregon.
Nyone has been a key defender for the Falcons. She's played 1,248 minutes, appearing in 19 matches and starting all but one game. Nyone has scored two goals, including a game-winner against Northwest Nazarene on Oct. 28. Nyone has an assist and five points to her name as well.
"We have been enjoying a special season together, and all the players who have been recognized today have played a big role so far," Busey added. "We look forward to beginning the post-season together and continuing what we started."
SPU finished the regular season in 20th in the United Soccer Coaches National Top 25 poll. They were third in the latest NCAA West Region Rankings. They went undefeated in conference play and head into this weekend's conference tournament as the top seed.
