COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M soccer team saw six players take 10 All-Big 12 honors in five different categories, the conference office announced today.
The list of All-Big 12 awards was highlighted by freshman Kelley Monogue, who was named the Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, and was selected to the All-Big 12 first team and the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team. Senior Merritt Mathias, junior Beth West and sophomore Rachel Lenz also received first-team honors, while freshman Meghan Streight was named to the All-Big 12 second team. Streight and freshman Annie Kunz join Monogue on the All-Newcomer roster.
The Aggies and Oklahoma State led the conference as they received 10 awards each. Monogue was the only player listed with four honors.
Monogue (McKinney, Texas) leads the Aggies offensively and tops the conference in both overall games and conference-only games in goals (16), goals per game (0.84), points (40) and points per game (2.11). Monogue was recently named the No. 1 freshman in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com and was ranked No. 4 on the site's Big 12 Top 20 Player Rankings. The forward has been named a Big 12 Player of the Week four times in the past five weeks, was selected to the TDS Team of the Week, and was named to Our Game Magazine's College Players to Watch list. Monogue's offensive stats rank among the best in the country in total goals (8th), total points (9th), points per game (12th) and goals per game (12th). She is only the second player in Big 12 history to be named both the Offensive Player of the Year and the Rookie of the Year.
Mathias (Birmingham, Ala.) topped out at No. 2 in the TDS Big 12 Top 20 Player Rankings and leads the league in shots (77) and shots per game (4.05), while ranking second in assists (9) and assists per game (0.47). In the most recent NCAA report, Mathias is 20th in the nation in total assists and 25th in assists per game. The senior started the season on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team and was placed on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. This is a third honor for Mathias, who was named to the 2010 All-Big 12 first team and the 2010 Big 12 All-Newcomer Team.
West (Centennial, Colo.) has led the Aggies in the midfield this season, sending a team-best nine assists forward. West's assists rank 20th in the nation, while she sits at 25th in assists per game. In overall games, the junior ranks third in the conference in assists and assists per game (0.47). No stranger to conference awards, West was selected to the 2008 Big 12 All-Newcomer Team, the 2009 Preseason All-Big 12 Team and the 2010 Academic All-Big 12 Team.
Lenz (Round Rock, Texas) continues to be a force on the Aggie backline. The defender has helped A&M to eight shutouts this season, allowing opponents to take just half of the shots fired by the Aggies. Lenz also contributed an assist this season, the second of her career. Last season the sophomore's outstanding performance as a rookie earned Lenz a spot on the All-Big 12 first team and the Big 12 Newcomer Team. She was selected to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team at the beginning of this season and is No. 7 in the TDS Big 12 Top 20 Player Rankings.
Streight (McKinney, Texas) has started in all 19 games for the Aggies, spending time as a midfielder and a defender. The freshman has scored two goals, including the equalizer that sent A&M into overtime with No. 1 North Carolina, and has contributed one assist. Streight ranks No. 33 in the nation among her young peers on the TDS Freshman Top 100 List.
Kunz (Golden, Colo.) has a team-second 28 points on 11 goals and six assists this season. She ranks second in the conference in points and goals, and is third in points per game (1.47) and goals per game (0.58). The forward has scored two hat tricks in her debut season and has received numerous weekly awards. Kunz was twice named a Big 12 Player of the Week, was honored on the TDS Team of the Week and was selected to Our Game Magazine's College Players to Watch list. Kunz was also named No. 14 in the TDS Big 12 Top 20 Player Rankings and is No. 7 in the publication's Freshman Top 100 List.
The second-seeded Aggies travel to San Antonio for the Big 12 Tournament this week, entering the bracket with an 8 p.m. Wednesday quarterfinal match against No. 7 seed Kansas. Each of the Aggies' Big 12 Tournament matches will be broadcast on AggieAthletics.com, while Wednesday and Sunday's games can also be heard on 95.1-3 The Zone HD. Big12Sports.com will feature live video for all of the week's matches, except for the Sunday championship game that is to be broadcast locally on FSN.
Thanks to a generous donation by a pair of A&M former students and Aggie soccer fans, all Texas A&M students will receive free admission to each of the Aggies' matches this week, with proof of student ID. To learn more about Texas A&M soccer, log on to AggieAthletics.com.