MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Junior defender Jordan Brewster of the No. 4-ranked West Virginia women’s soccer team has been named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, the conference announced Wednesday.
The North Canton, Ohio, native becomes the fifth different Mountaineer, and eighth overall, to win the conference’s top defensive honor.
“Jordan earning this award speaks to all her hard work and focus she has put in this season,” WVU coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “She stepped in this year knowing that she had to be a huge presence and leader to such a young back line. I’m thrilled the Big 12 recognized her value and commitment to excellence. This is a huge honor, and I am so happy and proud for Jordan.”
Brewster’s two assists tied for a team high in 2020. Defensively, she led West Virginia’s defense in holding opponents to just 50 shots — 5.6 per match — this fall. Of those, only 26 attempts were shots on goal.
Additionally, Brewster, senior midfielder Stefany Ferrer-vanGinkel and junior forward Alina Stahl were named to the All-Big 12 First Team Wednesday. It marked the first time WVU had three representatives on the first team since placing four on the squad in 2018.
Brewster makes her first career appearance on the all-conference first team with the honor. Along with being included on the 2018 Big 12 All-Freshman Team, she has been placed on the All-Big 12 Second Team in 2018 and 2019.
Ferrer-vanGinkel led the Big 12 and tied for No. 8 nationally with six goals this fall. She was the nation’s leader in game-winning goals, with four, and finished No. 1 in the Big 12 and No. 16 nationally in points (13). The Barcelona, Spain, native earned at least one point in six contests, scoring in five of them, including a two-goal effort against Kansas. Ferrer-vanGinkel paced the team in shots (21) and shots on goal (14), finishing No. 9 nationally in shot accuracy at .667.
After leading WVU in goals in 2019, Stahl tallied seven points (3 goals, 1 assist) for the Mountaineers this fall. She started in five of nine matches, recording 621 minutes played.
The Pittsburgh native placed 12 of her 21 shots on goal, ranking No. 5 in the Big 12 and No. 19 nationally in shot accuracy (.571). She also was credited with the game-winning goal in WVU’s win at Oklahoma on Nov. 23.
Along with the three first-team selections, two Mountaineers — redshirt junior forward Lauren Segalla and sophomore defender Nicole Payne — were named to the All-Big 12 Second Team. Both players started all nine matches for West Virginia this fall. Payne, who tallied one goal on the year, was one of two Mountaineers to play all 830 minutes in 2020. Segalla, who has served as a co-captain this season, finished the fall with four points (1 goal, 2 assists) on 16 shots for WVU.
Freshman midfielder Lilly McCarthy was featured on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team. The Baltimore native saw action in seven games, including one start, this fall. McCarthy posted five shots in 271 minutes played.
