By RANGERS ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
Northwestern women’s soccer goalkeeper Briana Legaspi and forward Yazmin Gomez were named All-Great American Conference honorable mention selections on Nov. 2 as voted on by the conference.
A senior from Colorado Springs, Colorado, Legaspi had a solid year for the Rangers in goals. She was instrumental in leading the Northwestern defense as well as protecting the net for the Rangers.
Legaspi’s consistent protection was evident throughout the year as she led the GAC in total saves at 139 stops. She has been a staple at the goal keeper position for Northwestern in her four years with the program. Her 139 saves over the season gives her a career total of 442 saves in the Ranger’s net. She adds this award to her long-list of career achievements that include two GAC Goal Keeper of the Week selections, as well as a First Team All-GAC selection in 2014.
“Briana had a fantastic year with what we challenged her with and she buckled down and had a stellar year,” said Craig Liddell, head women’s soccer coach. “She made a lot of fantastic saves that kept us a little closer in some games at crucial times, giving the defense a little more confidence. As tough as the stats may be, she had a fantastic year.”
A freshman from Westminster, California, Gomez was a consistent piece for the Ranger offense. She led the Ranger attack with 37 total shots on the season. She also proved to keep constant pressure on the opposing goalies with nearly half of those shots being on goal.
Gomez excelled as soon as she stepped on the field for the Rangers after not competing in the first five games of the season. She netted all three of her goals for the season in the first four games she appeared in.
“Yazmin was the exciting spark that we hoped she would be,” said Liddell. “She played up front as a center forward and often times our wingers had to drop down, so she at times would be up front by herself and she was still very dangerous. This year she sent out some warning signals that said there is a bright future for Ranger soccer.”
Northwestern will look to build on the bright spots of this season and work towards improvements in the 2017 season.