COLLEGE STATION, Texas - In the week before the beginning of the 2011 season, six Texas A&M soccer players received national recognition.
Seniors Bri Young (Castle Pines North, Colo.) and Merritt Mathias (Birmingham, Ala.) and sophomore Rachel Lenz (Round Rock, Texas) were selected to the TopDrawerSoccer.com 2011 Women's Upperclassmen Top 100, while Katie Perry (Mission Viejo, Calif.) was named one of the top 10 freshmen in the country in Soccer America's Freshmen of Influence list. Freshmen Shea Groom (Liberty, Mo.) and Annie Kunz (Golden, Colo.) were selected to the ESPN RISE Spring All-America List.
Young, a 2010 NSCAA All-American, was named to the 2010 All-Big 12 first team and earned CollegeSoccer360.com Primetime Performer of the Week honors in October. She led the Aggie defense to nine shutouts on the season while posting career highs in shots (71), shots on goal (36) and game-winning goals (4).
Mathias collected All-Big 12 first team and Big 12 All-Newcomer team honors as a first-year transfer in 2010, and twice garnered Big 12 Player of the Week awards. In her first season with the Aggies, the midfielder netted nine goals, four of them game winners, and five assists.
Lenz was also selected to the 2010 Big 12 All-Newcomer team and was the only freshman placed on the 2010 All-Big 12 first team. The defender helped lead one of the toughest back lines in the country and netted her first career goal, vs. Virginia Tech on Aug. 27.
Perry joins the Aggies from a strong San Diego Surf SC team, leading them to a 2009 national championship. This season she helped the Surf to another ECNL national title.
Groom was named the Gatorade Missouri Girls Soccer Player of the Year in May after leading her Liberty High School team to a share of the conference championship. Under the forward's wing, the Blue Jays took the state championship in 2010. She netted the game winner this season for a second Missouri State Championship with LHS.
Kunz is also a Gatorade State Girls Soccer Player of the Year - in Colorado - for three consecutive years. The forward led her Wheat Ridge High School team to three back-to-back state championships.
The Aggies kick off the 2011 season at home against Fresno State on Friday. The match will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Ellis Field. To learn more about Texas A&M soccer, log on to AggieAthletics.com.