Complete Release (PDF)
ELLENSBURG (Feb. 1) -- Two current Central Washington University women's soccer players, plus two who just completed their playing eligibility in 2009, are among 18 student-athletes named to the CWU women's soccer all-decade team for the decade from 2000-2009.
The team, selected by current head coach
Michael Farrand, who began his CWU coaching career in 2000, features two goalkeepers, six defenders, six midfielders, and four forwards. Midfielders
Kaycie Hutchins (Port Orchard/Bellarmine Prep) and
Ellie Eckroth (Auburn/Auburn Mountainview HS), who will be seniors during the 2010 season, were named to the team. Also chosen were two of the Wildcats' 2009 seniors -- record-setting goalkeeper
Amber Easterbrook (Kent/Kentwood HS) and first-team all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference defender
Jessica Andrews (Spanaway/Bethel HS).
Seventeen of the 18 all-decade team players earned all-conference honors at least once in their Wildcat careers, including five players who received all-conference accolades three times in their careers. Defender Becca LaLiberte, who played at CWU from 2000-03, was twice a first-team all-conference selection (2000 Pacific West Conference, 2003 GNAC). The other three players to have earned first-team all-conference selection during the decade -- Jenny Merkel (2000 PacWest), Lynde Clarke (2008 GNAC), and Andrews (2009 GNAC) -- were also on the all-decade team.
In addition to selecting an all-decade team of student-athletes, Farrand named his 2008 squad as the women's soccer "team of the decade" at CWU. The 2008 squad posted a 10-7-3 overall record, finished third in the GNAC standings behind national champion Seattle Pacific and national quarterfinalist Western Washington. That team also earned the program's first-ever regional ranking and was led by the team's first-ever all-NSCAA West Region selection in Clarke.
In addition to the 2008 squad, Central's team in 2000 -- Farrand's inaugural season -- tied a school record with 12 victories (12-6-1 record). Behind the defense of all-decade team goalkeeper Emily Barber and defender LaLiberte, had a school-record shutout streak of 656 minutes as the Wildcats won six of their first seven games of the decade.
Including games between the beginning of the 2000 season and the end of the 2009 campaign, Hutchins was the top scorer for goals (13), assists (20), and points (46). The number two goal scorer during the decade was Merkel, who totaled 11 goals during the 2000 season. Easterbrook owns school records for wins (30), losses (29), ties (10), and shutouts (20), and posted a 1.13 goals-against average over the course of her career.
CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY WOMEN'S SOCCER ALL-DECADE TEAM: 2000-09
Team of the Decade: 2008 (10-7-3 record, first-ever Division II regional ranking, third-place finish in Great Northwest Athletic Conference)
Goalkeepers:
Emily Barber, 1999-2002 (Oak Harbor/Arlington HS)
Amber Easterbrook, 2006-09 (Kent/Kentwood HS)
Defenders:
Jessica Andrews, 2006-09 (Spanaway/Bethel HS)
Jamie Bankston, 2002-05 (Bellevue)
McKenzie Brongil, 2001-04 (Seattle/Mount Rainier HS)
Becca LaLiberte, 2000-03 (Kingston/North Kitsap HS)
Ashley Nelson, 2002-05 (Snohomish/Monroe HS)
Michelle Phillips, 2003-06 (Wenatchee/Cashmere HS)
Midfielders:
Hannah Bridges, 2004, 2006-08 (Federal Way)
Rachel Casillas, 2002-03 (Lacey/Timberline HS)
Lynde Clarke, 2005-08 (Albuquerque, NM/Sandia HS)
Ellie Eckroth, 2007-present (Auburn/Auburn Mountainview HS)
Kaycie Hutchins, 2007-present (Port Orchard/Bellarmine Prep)
Lindsay Mitchell, 2004-07 (Edgewood/Federal Way HS)
Forwards:
Hilary Davidson, 2004-07 (Auburn)
Jenny Merkel, 1999-2000 (Kennewick/Kamiakin HS)
Arica Slawson, 2005-06 (Buckley/White River HS)
Stacy Wyman, 1999-2002 (Everett/Cascade HS)
