LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Both Biola Soccer programs spent much of the 2016 season ranked inside of the top-25 of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics and had good playoff runs.
 
The returns of successful seasons such as these include getting your players honored for helping lift a team to that kind of success. The Biola Soccer programs combined for three NAIA All-American honors in 2016 as Leonardo Contreras and Madyson Brown earned their second honors and Cat Newberry her first.
 
Contreras landed a spot on the All-American second team after finishing on the third team for the men last season. He had a strong senior season with seven goals and two assists and was the catalyst for the Eagles' offense all year long.
 
"I am very proud of Leo," said Head Coach Todd Elkins. "This is very well deserved. I was a bit worried he would not get the recognition he deserved because we did not do as well in postseason, but he was still able to make a strong impression on the league and the NAIA."


In his two seasons with Biola Contreras appeared in 35 matches for the Eagles and tallied 17 goals and nine assists for 43 total points. He ends his career with two all-conference honors, two All-American honors and a whole bunch of memorable moments at Al Barbour Field.
 
On the women's side Biola's dynamic center back combination of Madyson Brown and Cat Newberry was rewarded with All-American honors after leading one of the best defensive efforts in the NAIA.
 
Biola Women's Soccer allowed only six goals to its opponents in 16 regular season contests in 2016. The Eagles worked their way into a top-10 national ranking and went undefeated with a perfect 14-0-2 regular season mark paced by their lockdown defense.
 
Brown landed on the All-American second team to earn her second All-American honors in as many collegiate seasons. Newberry was named All-American honorable mention to make her first career All-American honors in the same season as she earned her first all-conference honors.
 
 
"I think Cat has been somebody that has been vital to our success this past three years. She had gone unnoticed in the form of season accolades, but for this year for her to receive those honors is awesome because she's finally starting to catch other people's eyes," said Head Coach Erin Brunelle.
 
Newberry appeared in all 19 of the Eagles' matches and was one of just four players to earn starts in each match. She led the team (non-keepers) in minutes with 1,685. Over the last three years she's logged 5,428 minutes on the pitch and led the team in each season.
 
She's started at center back in each of her three collegiate years and led the Eagles to 43 wins in three years.
 
 "She's not flashy, but she really holds our team together from the back," said Brunelle. "She communicates well on the field and is so smart. We haven't had very many goals scored against. That's something she strives for. She likes shutouts and is upset any time we get scored on. To have somebody like that on our back line has been beneficial."
 
Newberry's partner in the middle is nearly her polar opposite. Brown is just as consistent as Newberry, but also has the tendency to play all up and down the field and provide a flare of excitement wherever she goes.
 
In her two years at Biola she's certainly made an impression on the team, conference and national levels. This is her second All-American honor, last year she was the GSAC Newcomer of the Year and this year she was definitely in the running for conference player of the year.
 
"I think she has come in and just been somebody that wants to put her stamp on the game and constantly wants to improve herself and wants the team to get better," said Brunelle. "She demands that out of the players around her. Whatever we can achieve she wants to go out and go get it."
 
Brown logged 1,672 minutes this year and was another one of those players who played in and started all 19 matches. She scored three goals and added three assists to make her all the more valuable to Brunelle because of her ability to create offense and lock down the opponent.
 
"She is a bit more flashy and takes some risks," said Brunelle. "She has the stamina and ability to cover so much ground that she helps us in the ability to generate some attacks or even just in chasing players down. If we do get beat she is often the player that goes and cleans things up."
 
These three players will be the final Eagles to earn NAIA All-American status as the soccer programs are both now officially operating as provisional members of the NCAA Division II and the PacWest Conference.