LA MIRADA, Calif. --- The 11-win Biola Eagles were very well-represented in the All-PacWest teams released by the PacWest Conference Office on Tuesday. 

Seniors Madyson Brown and Christina Rodriguez were named Defender of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year, respectively, after the Eagles allowed the fewest goals in the conference this season (12) and posted 11 shutouts. The record-setting duo were joined on the first team by senior centerback Alyssa Chavez and midfielder Katelyn Penner, while four other Eagles also earned All-PacWest honors.

Seniors Colie Martin and Hali Oakes appeared on the All-PacWest second team and freshmen Halie Jamir and Madi Reeves landed on the third team. The eight all-conference selections in one year and the four first team all-conference selections in one year both set new bests for Biola team sports in the NCAA era. 

"Our team defense was stellar all season," said Head Coach Erin Brunelle. "We began pre-season with a focus to "defend with tenacity" and the ladies were locked-in to make sure that was our foundation throughout the season.  As such, it is no surprise that the bulk of our All-PacWest recipients are those players who play in the back half of the field.  

"Even so, these players also contributed greatly to our attack as well. We expect our attackers to be our first line of defense, and our defenders to initiate and be involved in our attack. All of these ladies could not have achieved their individual levels of excellence without the entire team around them defending and attacking as a unit."

Centerback Madyson Brown received the most votes of any defender nominated for All-PacWest consideration by a wide margin and earned all-conference honors for the fourth time in her career. She was named her conference's Defender of the Year for the first time after serving as the Eagles' vocal leader and combining with Chavez to set a tone of grit and determination on the backline. In addition to helping Biola set some of the best defensive marks in the PacWest, Brown started all 18 matches for Biola and only spent a total of two minutes off the pitch during the Eagles' games. 

In addition to her ability to win the ball from attackers running into open space, Brown took the majority of free-kick services for the Eagles and regularly brought the ball upfield after winning challenges, resulting in 20 shots and 8 shots on goal this season. By the conclusion of her final match in Fresno last week, Brown also set the records for the most career starts (77) and minutes played (6,981) among any male or female soccer player in Biola history. 

"Mady exudes confidence and possesses a work rate that rubs off onto the teammates around her," said Brunelle. "She had various dominating performances throughout the season and helped anchor a defense that limited nearly all of our opponents to only a handful of shots-on-goal per game. Her vocal leadership, well-timed challenges, and distribution from the back were consistent throughout the season.  

"She has also been an inspirational leader on the team with the joy she brings to the training ground and game field alike, as well as the grit and passion for the sport [that are] needed to compete well," Brunelle continued. "This is another recognition that will in no small part aid her in leaving Biola Women's Soccer as one of the most decorated players throughout a career. She is the first one to acknowledge the work of the players around her and give all glory to God for any praise or recognition."

Rodriguez also set her share of records as a senior in 2019, becoming the all-time leader in career shutouts among all Biola male and female goalkeepers with 29 clean sheets. She was named Goalkeeper of the Year after allowing the fewest goals among PacWest keepers (10), recording the most clean sheets (8), and after posting the best goals against average (0.644). On top of that, Rodriguez played her best in conference play, earning two more shutouts than any other conference keeper with five and finished just outside the top-10 best goals against averages in PacWest history with her 0.644 mark. 

Rodriguez was previously named PacWest Defender of the Week on September 16. But this is the first all-conference and all-conference first team honor of her career. 

"Tina has an insatiable will to compete and a relentless desire to win, which fueled the ten players in front of her to be filled with the same emotions throughout the season," said Brunelle. "The confidence that Tina exudes allowed her to easily come up with the saves needed to keep the ball out of our net. Due to our team defense being so strong, Tina was rarely called upon to make numerous saves in the majority of our games. However, she had standout performances, most notably against Seattle Pacific and Point Loma, where she came up with big saves to keep us in the game at the time.  

"In games where she was rarely tested, she maintained the mental focus to stay engaged in the game, ready to make the necessary save when the time came. Her work rate in practices kept her skills sharp and repeatedly tested the scoring prowess of our own team. She bounced back remarkably from injury last season and it is wonderful to see her receive this recognition after sitting out a season to recover."

Alyssa Chavez was excellent in the centerback position for Biola alongside Brown, and the combination of the two women playing together was impressive to watch. Chavez was named to the All-PacWest First Team after starting every match and playing every minute for the Eagles this year. She regularly ended scoring opportunities for opponents with 1-v-1 tackles on the run and by stepping in front of forward passes. And she helped make Biola a premier defense in the conference through her relentlessness in pursuit and willingness to run through any obstacle. That drive earned Chavez PacWest Defender of the Week on October 28 and her first all-conference recognition with the Eagles. 

"Chavie was an absolute stud for us all season long," said Coach Brunelle. "She has the ability to read the play so well, and consistently denied passes into opposing forwards' feet, stifling their attack. She is so calm and composed on the ball, and was masterful in her ability to connect passes out of the back to initiate our attack. She has precise timing to be able to win challenge after challenge out of the air, even against opposing attackers who have five or six more inches of height on her.  

"Chavie consistently pushed the tempo of play both in practices and games, and set high expectations for her teammates around her," Brunelle continued. "She held her teammates accountable on the field, making sure she was pushing herself just the same. She was by far our most tenacious defender all season long and we are so pleased that the conference took note of her ability."

Katelyn Penner was the first member of Biola's midfield unit to appear on the PacWest's list. The sophomore earned All-PacWest First Team honors for the second time in as many years and was top-five in the conference in 2019 for game-winning goals with three. Penner only got better as an attacking mid this season after her First Team selection in 2018, scoring more goals (a team-high four), taking more shots and shots on goal, and playing more minutes (1,618) this year. 

She played every minute in 13 of Biola's 18 matches this season, including two double overtime matches and 10 contests against PacWest opponents. But Penner also dazzled with her skill on the ball, navigating around opposing defenders to turn upfield and showing the ability to dribble under pressure around the penalty area. Consequently, she is the first student-athlete from a Biola team sport to earn back-to-back All-PacWest First Team honors.

"KP emerged as a scoring threat this season, and we are excited for her future seasons to come," Coach Brunelle said. "She controlled the midfield with the ball at her feet and was able to break lines going forward game after game. She improved in her defensive capabilities this season and helped to put pressure on the opposing backlines, allowing us to win the ball back higher up the field. She is the one player on the field where every teammate feels confident to pass her the ball, even if she has multiple defenders on her back. 

"She is also calm and deceptive on the ball, with an uncanny ability to dribble out of tight spaces and keep possession for our team," continued Brunelle. "She has genuine care and concern for her teammates and is becoming more of a vocal leader as well.  We look forward to what God has in store for her for the remainder of her career."

Women's Soccer followed its four first team selections with two seniors on the second team: defender Colie Martin and midfielder Hali Oakes. Martin is the first Biola Eagle from a team sport to make three-straight All-PacWest teams after this selection, which she earned after posting the best attacking totals of her career. The stellar left back led her team in points with 10 and was tied for the most assists in the PacWest with six this season. She earned PacWest Defender of the Week on October 14 after she scored a game-winning goal at Holy Names and took at least one shot in every conference match, including five in the season finale at Fresno Pacific.

Martin cemented her legacy as a dangerous outside back who would use her speed to race up and down the sideline in order to create opportunities for her team and chase down opponents. Her strength and toughness when coming in for tackles was also crucial to helping Biola post those aforementioned 11 shutouts. 

"Colie was a force to be reckoned with in the flanks all season long," started Brunelle. "She was our leading point scorer, with the majority of her points coming from assists. Not only was she one of our best 1v1 defenders, but in most games, she was one of our best attacking threats as well. Her speed and agility allowed her to keep pace or beat out many of the conference's best attackers, and she frequently cut out passes to opposing forwards, allowing her to then take the ball up field at her feet to create a scoring opportunity.  

"She is such a fierce competitor, and possesses stamina and athleticism that enable her to be the opposition's worst nightmare all game long. We are graduating one of the best to have ever played the outside back position in Colie, but our younger players have learned so much from her over the years.  We are excited to see the fruit from her mentorship in the years to come."

After earning a Third Team All-PacWest selection in 2018, captain Hali Oakes started every match again this season while posting more shots and shots on goal than she did a year ago. The holding center midfielder played every minute in 14 of Biola's 18 matches, including 11 contests against PacWest opponents, to total 1,633 minutes played in 2019 and was a primary contributor to Biola's 11 shutouts because of her ability to chase down and slow opposing attacker before they reached the attacking zone. She rocketed a number of shots from the top of the box this season and finally got her first goal of the year in Biola's 3-2 win over Fresno Pacific, contributing the equalizer after her team fell behind 2-0 after 10 minutes. 

In addition to her excellent leadership skills on and off the pitch, Oakes helped relieve pressure in the midfield for the Eagles by constantly making herself a passing option and by making solid passes herself when being challenged on the ball by opponents. 

"The majority of the work that a holding center mid does in a game typically goes unnoticed.  There are very little stats, and the work asked of the position is tedious and cumbersome," said Coach Brunelle. "Hali has been a ubiquitous player throughout her career, constantly doing the work to cover for a teammate who was beat, sliding over to chase down and stop a counterattack, or switching the point of attack through the midfield.  She also repeatedly got in on the attack, taking numerous shots from distance - finally connecting for a goal in her last game as a BUWS player. 

"She has also led our team with poise and grace for two years, learning for herself what it means to worship God on the field through soccer," Brunelle added. "She has been able to share these lessons with her teammates and we look forward to the growth in our younger players that will come as a result of having had Hali as a teammate."

Two freshmen, Halie Jamir and Madi Reeves, also earned all-conference honors for the Eagles after stepping into regular starting roles for Head Coach Erin Brunelle. Like fellow midfielder Katelyn Penner, Jamir had three game-winning goals this season, scoring all three against PacWest opponents, and recorded a total of nine points in her freshman campaign (four goals, one assist). She averaged over 61 minutes played across the Biola's 11 conference matches, including 90 minutes played at Concordia and 101 minutes against Point Loma, and appeared in all 18 contests this season.

"As the season progressed, Halie gained more and more confidence with each minute she played. In conference play, she settled into her role both offensively and defensively in the midfield, taking over the responsibility to create scoring opportunities for both herself and her fellow attackers," said Brunelle. "She consistently found pockets of space to receive the ball in the attack, and was able to drive at pace to put the opposing backline on their heels. She scored some clutch goals for us and we look forward to the seasons to come for more of the same."

Reeves was Biola's only freshman to play over 1,000 minutes this season. She started 13 match and brought a caliber of speed and skill on the ball that complemented Martin's quite well. Reeves earned PacWest Freshman of the Week honors on October 14 after assisting the game-winning goal at Dominican and averaged 75 minutes played against PacWest opponents. She totaled eight shots (three on-goal) in 2019 and played every minute of six matches. 

"Madi was a warrior all season long and had a tremendous freshman campaign" started Coach Brunelle. "She battled illness and injury throughout the majority of the season, yet still found a way to be one of the top defenders in the conference. She has the pace and physicality necessary to be difficult to beat 1v1, but also possesses unique attacking strengths as well.  She sees openings of space two and three seconds ahead of the play, and was a consistent threat in the attack in every game she played.

"She relied heavily upon God's strength through every match and we are excited for the development ahead of her throughout the remainder of her career."

Biola Women's Soccer posted its best PacWest finish in the three years it has been a conference member with an 8-2-1 conference record. The team will return to Al Barbour Field for spring practices in the new calendar year.