Five Bruins Earn Pac-12 Postseason Awards
November 08, 2016 | Women's Soccer
A total of five Bruins received Pac-12 women's soccer postseason awards, led by first-team All-Pac-12 and All-Freshman honoree Jessie Fleming and second-team All-Pac-12 selections Darian Jenkins and Anika Rodriguez. Hailie Mace received honorable mention All-Pac-12 acclaim, and Kaiya McCullough joined Fleming and Rodriguez on the All-Freshman team.
Fleming, a freshman midfielder from London, Ontario, leads the Bruins in scoring with 10 goals and 22 points and ranks fourth in the Pac-12 in points per game (1.38). She made an immediate impact upon arriving to Westwood straight from the Olympic Games, where she helped Canada win a bronze medal. Two days after arriving on campus, she scored two of UCLA's In her first game, she scored two goals against No. 6 Florida, and in the following game scored the game-winning goal in overtime against defending NCAA champion Penn State. Fleming, who is ranked as Top Drawer Soccer's top-ranked freshman on its midseason list, has three game-winning goals to her credit, including two in overtime.
Jenkins, a senior forward from Riverton, Utah, was having a career year when her season ended due to a fibula fracture on Oct. 2. At the time of her injury, she was leading the Pac-12 in scoring with seven goals and 17 points. Despite missing the final eight games of the regular season, she still ranks second in the Pac-12 in points per game (1.55), fourth in goals per game (0.64) and third in game-winning goals (five). Jenkins is a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree and was a nominee for the Senior CLASS Award. This is her third career all-conference award. She was a first-team honoree and the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in 2013, and she earned honorable mention honors in 2015.
Rodriguez, a redshirt freshman midfielder from Torrance, Calif., leads UCLA and ranks second in the Pac-12 in assists with eight. She has also scored two goals and ranks third on the team in scoring with 12 points. Rodriguez has played in all 19 games and has made 17 starts, logging 1,283 minutes. She was ranked seventh by Top Drawer Soccer in its midseason Top 100 freshman list.
Mace, a sophomore defender from Ventura, Calif., has led a UCLA defense that has recorded seven shutouts. She has also contributed offensively from her center back position, contributing two assists, including the game-winner in overtime at Arizona. Mace is one of just two Bruin players who has started in all 19 games this season, and she ranks second on the team in minutes played with 1,653. She has been honored twice this season as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week.
McCullough, a freshman defender from Mission Viejo, Calif., has played and started in 18 games and contributed to seven shutouts. She also has one assist from the center back position. McCullough is listed at No. 27 in the Top Drawer Soccer midseason Top 100 freshman list. Stanford's Andi Sullivan was named the Player of the Year, while Colorado's Taylor Kornieck was selected the Freshman of the Year. USC's Mandy Freeman was named Defensive Player of the Year, and Sammy Jo Prudhomme was named Goalkeeper of the Year. Stanford head coach and UCLA alumnus Paul Ratcliffe won Coach of the Year.
