After the deepest postseason run in program history, the John Brown University women's soccer squad boasts two All-Americans in a single season for the first time as sophomore Aubrey Mendez and freshman Ryan Winingham each earned a third team selection, the NAIA national office announced Wednesday afternoon.
Additionally, seniors Sienna Carballo and Caitlyn Logan were given honorable mention after the Golden Eagles finished their season at 14-0-1 in the NAIA National Championships Second Round.
Logan appears on the national accolades list for the third consecutive season -- including a 2018 third-team selection -- while Mendez, Winingham and Carballo earn their first national distinctions of their respective careers. The quartet of honorees is the most in a single season since 2007, when the Golden Eagles had five All-America honorable mentions.
"I am so excited for this group of players," head coach Dr. Kathleen Paulsen said. "It's a reflection not only of their performances, but also the performance of our team collectively. They are well deserving of these honors and I am thankful that other coaches across the nation are honoring their contributions.
"Aubrey has been a rock for us in the backline, logging more minutes than any other field player. She has been steady, consistent, and reliable since day one. Over the course of the season, we had to deal with three of the top five goal scorers in the nation and between her, Caitlyn Logan and our back line, there was only one goal scored. That is an impressive statistic. Ryan is a player that has improved significantly as the season went on. She played a major role for us in the midfield winning balls out of the air, distributing and defending. She kept scoring important goals that kept our season going and came up huge in really big moments."
Mendez started all 15 contests for JBU this season and played the full match six times, including all three NAIA National Championships contests. The Chino, Calif. native anchored a back line that didn't allow a goal in 10 consecutive contests and the one goal allowed in nine regular season contests was from the penalty spot. Also an SAC first-team selection, she led the defense in allowing just .460 goals against per game, which finished seventh nationally, and set a new single-season program record. She also added four assists on the season.
Winingham was one of only four freshman to earn an All-America status, after a season in which she seemed to score the biggest goals at the biggest moments. Netting game-winners in a pivotal regular season match at Mid-America Christian (Okla.), she also added the game-deciding tallies versus Science & Arts (Okla.) in the SAC tournament finals, against No. 19 Baker (Kan.) in the Opening Round semifinals in the final two minutes and even headed a corner kick on goal that would eventually cross the goal line against No. 8 Central Methodist (Mo.) in the NAIA National Championships Second Round, Winingham is the first player in program history to earn All-America honors in her first season of play. The SAC Freshman of the Year finished the season second on the team in scoring with 10 goals and 22 points, scoring in eight of 15 matches this season.
"Sienna has had a fantastic four-year career, and this season was no exception," Paulsen added. "She stepped into a major role as our leading goalscorer and point-producer, and she scored important goals and had critical assists over the course of the season. But more than that, her work rate, effort, and attitude on the field modeled what our team desires to consistently be.
"Caitlyn continues to be a rock, not only this season, but throughout her entire career. Earning All-American status for three straight years speaks to a body of work that can only be described as consistent excellence. She too, had big time moments through postseason play and is a major reason our season continued to the Second Round."
Carballo paced the nation's seventh-highest scoring offense with 12 goals and 29 points, averaging nearly 2.00 points per game. She netted a pair of hat tricks, including one in a victory over Oklahoma City in the SAC tournament semifinals. The SAC Player of the Year scored a pair of game-winning goals and is now second all-time in program history with 14 game-winners.
Logan posted 10 consecutive shutouts and backstopped the Golden Eagles in its deepest run ever in the NAIA National Championships. She stopped a career-best 36 of 43 (.837) opponent shots on goal and boasted the nation's seventh-best goals-against average at .460. Saving a season-high six shots twice, both in the Opening Round versus No. 19 Baker (Kan.) and No. 11 Oklahoma Wesleyan, the Charlotte, N.C. product was also named the Sooner Athletic's top goalkeeper for the third consecutive season.