Kaitlyn Brunworth earns All-American honors from NSCAA
Date Posted: 12/8/2015
Kansas City, Mo.----Wingate University junior midfielder Kaitlyn Brunworth (Littleton, Colo.) has been named a second team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). The All-American teams were announced Wednesday night. Brunworth earns All-American honors for the first time in her career.
This marks the fifth consecutive year the Wingate women's soccer program has had an All-American. The streak started in 2011, when senior Kelly Adams led the nation in assists, earning second team All-American accolades from Daktronics. In 2012, Jade Montgomery led the nation in goals, earning first team All-American honors from Daktronics. Montgomery earned NSCAA and Daktronics All-American accolades in 2013, while once again earning All-American honors from both publications in 2014, which included an NSCAA first team All-American nod. Before this run, the only other NCAA All-American from women's soccer came in 2003, when defender Annie Hoecherlearned NSCAA third team honors.
"Having an All-American selected for the fifth straight year is an excellent accomplishment for our program," head coach Chip Wiggins says. "This is a well-deserved honor for Kaitlyn."
Brunworth has piled up the awards in her career. She started 20 contests during her freshman season in 2013, helping the Bulldogs win the SAC Tournament title and capture the first NCAA regional championship in program history. In 2014, Brunworth earned first team All-SAC and All-Region honors, while also being named the SAC Scholar-Athlete. Brunworth repeated as an All-SAC and All-Region selection in 2015, adding Academic All-America honors to the second team NSCAA All-American selection.
Brunworth led the Bulldogs to another successful year in 2015. Wingate earned its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid, while playing in the SAC Tournament championship match for the sixth straight year. The Bulldogs went 15-3-2 overall, with an 8-1-2 mark in league play. Wingate was ranked as high as ninth nationally during the season.
Brunworth started all 20 matches for Wingate in 2015, leading the team with six goals, three assists and 15 points. She netted four game-winners on the year, including game-winning goals in both of Wingate's 1-0 SAC Tournament victories. Brunworth also had the game-winner at Lincoln Memorial and at home against Catawba. She also helped the Bulldogs rank among the nation's best defensively. Wingate allowed just six goals in 16 regular season matches, while adding two more shutouts in the SAC Tournament. The Bulldogs piled up 13 total shutouts while holding opponents to 8.8 shots per game. Wingate led the conference in goals-against average and allowed only three goals in 11 SAC matches.