Women's Soccer November 01, 2016 Brandon Taylor, Sports Information Assistant

Five Eagles Earn All-Conference

Maddy Brown, Jessie Burns, Sam Verduzco, Taylor Venegas and Cat Newberry each earn top honors.

GSAC RELEASE

LA MIRADA, Calif. --- As one of only two women's soccer sides that finished the regular season undefeated, the Biola Eagles got some well-deserved recognition on Tuesday with five All-GSAC team selections presented by Under Armour. With the addition of Head Coach Erin Brunelle's award for co-GSAC Coach of the Year, the five selections makes Biola the most decorated team in the conference.

"I think that [Coach of the Year] award is testament to the players and team I work with," said Brunelle. "This team has really come together to be one of the toughest teams to beat in the nation and we had multiple players who could have been All-GSAC that weren't. So I think the award is more for the players because it's a thrill to work with them day in and day out."

The all-conference nods were spread across the Eagles' front and back lines as three forwards and two center backs were recognized.

Senior captains Jessie Burns and Taylor Venegas set the pace for the Eagles' attack all season, and both forwards rightly earned All-GSAC selections for their leadership of the side both on and off the pitch.

Burns' 2016 regular season is notable for how sharp and efficient she was with her opportunities to score during GSAC play. The Thousand Oaks, CA native needed only seven shots-on-goal to score five times for Biola and was money from the penalty spot, converting all three of her penalty kicks. This is Burns' second-consecutive all-conference selection.

"Jessie has come up with some very important goals for us and has probably been our best attacker during conference," said Brunelle. "She can make something out of nothing when she's on the ball and that led to crucial goals that have won matches for us."

Unlike Burns, Venegas took on the role of battering ram for the Eagles' attack by forcing defenders to follow her on breakaway runs and averaging over six shots-per-match during conference play. Venegas was able to slip opposing defenders' attention well enough in GSAC play to collect two goals and two assists. But the space she created for her teammates to score was invaluable and is a major reason she earned her third-consecutive all-conference selection.

"Taylor does so much work up top for us to make our offense tough to handle by wearing down opposing defenses," said Brunelle. "Her work rate both offensively and defensively goes a long way to create the opportunities that we need for her and for her teammates and her goals and assists reflect that."

Junior Samantha Verduzco rounds out the list of Eagles' forwards to be recognized Tuesday, earning the second all-conference selection of her career. Statistically, Verduzco was the out and out team leader in Biola's primary scoring categories. The junior scored eight of Biola's 50 goals this season and also led the team in game-winning goals with three.

"Sam can really be a handful for defense and I think she's the most capable player in our league at creating opportunities from her left flank position," said Brunelle. "We can really depend on her to deliver when we ask her to run past a defender with the ball at her feet and then serve it into the box."

At the defensive end, both of Biola's center backs earned all-conference honors for their commanding roles anchoring the best defense in the conference. Honorees Cat Newberry and Madyson Brown combined with Bri Mikalson and Kayla White to allow just six goals across Biola's 16 matches and only three goals during the 10 GSAC matches. Newberry and Brown were also key contributors in all 10 of the Eagles' shutouts, with clean sheets against the high octane offenses of Westmont and Vanguard being the most impressive.

"Maddy and Cat have really shut down opponents biggest threats since they both use their individual abilities as defenders so well, said Brunelle. "The best proof of their ability as a tandem is probably our match in Santa Barbara against Westmont when they limited GSAC Player of the Year Brooke Lillywhite and Newcomer of the Year Maddi Berthoud to a combined three shots during the match and just one shot on goal."

"For Cat in particular, I think it's just great that she can get recognized after being such a smart defender and the glue of our backline for three years now," continued Brunelle. "And Maddy just has the ability to do so much on the pitch from covering ground defensively and reading the play in front of her to offensively getting three goals and three assists for us this season."

This is the first all-conference selection for Newberry and the second-consecutive selection for Brown.

The Eagles' next match will be on Thursday Nov. 10 at 5:30 p.m. for the first women's semifinal of the GSAC tournament (hosted at Biola).

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Players Mentioned

#14 Madyson Brown: D/MF; 5' 6"; Sophomore

#18 Jessie Burns: MF; 5' 7"; Senior

#2 Bri Mikalson: Def; 5' 3"; Junior

#21 Cat Newberry: Def; 5' 6"; Junior

#23 Taylor Venegas: Fwd; 5' 10"; Senior

#26 Samantha Verduzco: F/D; 5' 9"; Junior

#7 Kayla White: D/MF; 5' 2"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#14 Madyson Brown
: 5' 6"; Sophomore
: D/MF

#18 Jessie Burns
: 5' 7"; Senior
: MF

#2 Bri Mikalson
: 5' 3"; Junior
: Def

#21 Cat Newberry
: 5' 6"; Junior
: Def

#23 Taylor Venegas
: 5' 10"; Senior
: Fwd

#26 Samantha Verduzco
: 5' 9"; Junior
: F/D

#7 Kayla White
: 5' 2"; Senior
: D/MF

Biola University Athletics

Scoreboard

Scoreboard

Five Eagles Earn All-Conference

Maddy Brown, Jessie Burns, Sam Verduzco, Taylor Venegas and Cat Newberry each earn top honors.

Players Mentioned

#14 Madyson Brown

#18 Jessie Burns

#2 Bri Mikalson

#21 Cat Newberry

#23 Taylor Venegas

#26 Samantha Verduzco

#7 Kayla White

Players Mentioned

#14 Madyson Brown

#18 Jessie Burns

#2 Bri Mikalson

#21 Cat Newberry

#23 Taylor Venegas

#26 Samantha Verduzco

#7 Kayla White

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