Both Hawai`i Hilo and Point Loma can claim a trio of Pacific West Conference women's soccer special awards, voted on by the conference's coaches and announced on Wednesday by the league office.

Point Loma will have to make room in the trophy case for Coach of the Year Kristi Kiely, Defender of the Year Emma Thrapp and Freshman of the Year Nikki Ross. On the Big Island, Hawai`i Hilo will add Teani Arakawa as Player of the Year, Phoebe Barnes as Goalkeeper of the Year and Jazlynn Ellis as Newcomer of the Year to its soccer trophy room.

Kristi Kiely is in her sixth season at Point Loma and has lead her program to five NCAA postseason appearances--they only time that they didn't play at the end of the regular season was the 2020 Covid shortened year. Her teams have won or tied for the PacWest title in four of her five full seasons and were the PacWest champs with an 8-2 record this Fall and are 12-3-1 overall heading into the NCAA West Regional, where they are the No. 1 seed. The Sea Lions led the conference in scoring this year with 42 goals, gave up only 11 scores and paced the PacWest in scoring margin at 1.54 goals per match. Counting five previous seasons at Westmont, Kiely has a career head coaching mark of 137-41-20.

Emma Thrapp played a big role in Point Loma winning the conference title, leading a stout defensive side. The Preseason Defender of the Year pocketed the postseason Defender of the Year title as well, and the junior also earned her third straight First Team All-PacWest honor. She was a Second Team All-Region pick last year as a sophomore. While leading a defense that allowed less than a goal a game (0.49) and just above three shots on goal a match (3.1), the Temecula native also scored four goals and had three assists. Only one of those goals was a penalty kick.

Nikki Ross was a great gift to Kiely and Point Loma as a transfer from the University of New Mexico, where she redshirted last year. Ross wins the Freshman of the Year award, coming off the bench to score seven goals for the Sea Lions. The Seattle native started in just four matches all season (63 minutes per match) but was a force off the bench. She scored twice at Hawaii Pacific and finished the regular season strong with four goals in her last six matches. The 5-foot-2 forward was also named to the All-PacWest Second Team.

Teani Arakawa was the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year and lived up to the hype as the coach's choice for postseason Player of the Year. She was twice named the PacWest Player of the Week after a torrid start to the season that saw her score seven goals in the month of September alone. She finished the season with 10 goals, tops in the conference, seven assists (tied for first) and 27 points (tops). Three times this season she had two goals in a contest, and she had two assists earlier this season in a 3-1 win over Stanislaus State. The Maui native was a Second Team All-PacWest and All-West Region pick last year after transferring from South Dakota State.

Arakawa's teammate Jazlynn Ellis is the PacWest Newcomer of the Year. The junior midfielder is a Illinois-Chicago transfer who started every match for the Vulcans this season. She had eight goals and five assists, including a hat trick (three goals) against Hawaii Pacific  that helped her earn the PacWest Co-Player of the Week award. In the last two matches of the season, both 2-2 draws, she had two assists against Azusa Pacific and had two goals at Chaminade. The Parker, Colorado native finished second in the PacWest with 1.40 points per match.

Phoebe Barnes moved into the starting goalkeeper role this season for Hawai`i Hilo and promptly worked her way into the PacWest Goalkeeper of the Year award. The Sonoma State transfer earned the Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year award before she set foot on the turf for the Vulcans, and her play throughout the year warranted both awards. She had three shutouts on the season, 41 saves and a 0.81 Goals Against Average. She was the PacWest Defender of the Week after posting a 90-minute shutout of Biola. The 5-foot-10 junior started two seasons at Sonoma State before arriving on the Big Island. 

Joining Barnes, Thrapp, Ellis and Arakawa on the All-PacWest First Team were Hawai`i Hilo's Megan Donovan, Filippa Graneld and Alyssa Padron. Alana Diaz, Naomi Ellis and Bethany Arabe were Point Loma First Team picks, and NCAA tournament bound Concordia had Layla Comeaux and Gabby Breton. Taylie Scott from Westmont rounded out the First Team.  

It was the fourth All-PacWest selection for Naomi Ellis, and the third for Graneld, Arabe, Padron, Breton, Thrapp and Comeaux. Riley Walkington of Concordia was a Second Team member this year, her third All-PacWest honor, same for Mara Sovde of Point Loma and Bethany Tee of Azusa Pacific.

 

2023 PACWEST WOMEN’S SOCCER AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR	DEFENDER OF THE YEAR	GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
Teani Arakawa Hawai`i Hilo	Emma Thrapp Point Loma	Phoebe Barnes Hawai`i Hilo
NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR	FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR	COACH OF THE YEAR
Jazlynn Ellis Hawai`i Hilo	Nikki Ross Point Loma	Kristi Kiely Point Loma

 
 

2023 ALL-PACWEST WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown/Previous School
FIRST TEAM
Teani Arakawa*	Hawai`i Hilo	F	Jr.	Makawao, Hawai`i / South Dakota State
Megan Donovan	Hawai`i Hilo	F	Sr.	Encinitas, Calif. / McNeese State
Alana Diaz**	Point Loma	F	Jr.	Chino Hills, Calif. / South Hills HS
Bethany Arabe**	Point Loma	F	Jr.	Fullerton, Calif. / Troy HS
Filippa Graneld**	Hawai`i Hilo	MF	Sr.	Stockholm, Sweden / Colorado State
Alyssa Padron**	Hawai`i Hilo	MF	Sr.	San Pedro, Calif. / UC Davis
Jazlynn Ellis	Hawai`i Hilo	MF	Jr.	Parker, Colo. / Illinois-Chicago
Layla Comeaux**	Concordia	MF	Sr.	Corona, Calif. / Centennial HS
Naomi Ellis***	Point Loma	D	Jr.	El Cajon, Calif. / Granite Hills HS
Gabby Breton**	Concordia	D	Sr.	Corona, Calif. / Centennial HS
Taylie Scott	Westmont	D	Gr.	Maple Grove, Minn. / Heritage Christian
Emma Thrapp**	Point Loma	D	Jr.	Temecula, Calif. / Temecula HS
Phoebe Barnes	Hawai`i Hilo	GK	Jr.	La Crescenta, Calif. / Sonoma State
SECOND TEAM
Nikki Ross	Point Loma	F	Fr.	Seattle, Wash. / Univ. of New Mexico
Peyton Nelson	Biola	F	So.	Cypress, Calif. / Los Alamitos HS
Riley Walkington**	Concordia	F	Sr.	Sandpoint, Idaho / Eastern Washington
Amarys Machado	Westmont	F	Jr.	Twain Harte, Calif. / Sonora HS
Bethany Tee**	Azusa Pacific	MF	Sr.	Yucaipa, Calif. / Yucaipa HS
Amelia Villa	Westmont	MF	So.	Solvang, Calif. / Santa Ynez HS
Mara Sovde**	Point Loma	MF	Jr.	Bellevue, Wash. / Newport-Bellevue HS
Olivia Ocampo	Concordia	MF	Jr.	Cypress, Calif. / Cypress HS
Mackenzie Kimmel	Point Loma	MF	Sr.	San Diego, Calif. / Air Force
Haley Mo`okini	Chaminade	D	So.	San Gabriel, Calif. / Gabrielino HS
Sophia Emerson	Azusa Pacific	D	Fr.	Claremont, Calif. / Claremont HS
Gianna Ocello*	Azusa Pacific	D	Jr.	Upland, Calif. / Upland HS
Alia Bourney	Hawai`i Hilo	D	So.	Northville, Mich. / Northville HS
Riley Urquiza	Concordia	GK	So.	Huntington Beach, Calif. / Huntington Beach HS
THIRD TEAM
Grace Duckens	Westmont	F	Sr.	Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. / Trabuco Hills HS
Aubrey Dunaway	Azusa Pacific	F	So.	Honolulu, Hawai`i / Maryknoll HS
Avery Guiel	Azusa Pacific	F	So.	Peoria, Ariz. / Mountain Ridge HS
Delaney Buntin	Chaminade	F	Jr.	Vail, Ariz. / Pima CC
Katie Prado*	Azusa Pacific	MF	Sr.	La Verne, Calif. / Bonita HS
Nicki Friedman	Point Loma	MF	Jr.	Aliso Viejo, Calif. / San Francisco State
Alejandro Melendez	Dominican	MF	Sr.	Oakland, Calif. / Bishop O’Dowd HS
Brianna Guerra*	Concordia	D	Sr.	Anaheim, Calif. / UC Davis
Marije Rechin	Biola	D	So.	Santa Rosa, Calif. / Cardinal Newman
Jensen Shrout	Point Loma	D	Jr.	Santa Clarita, Calif. / Hart HS
Miya Clarke	Hawai`i Hilo	D	Sr.	Hilo, Hawai`i / Peninsula CC
Naomi Takata	Chaminade	GK	Sr.	Honolulu, Hawai`i / Pearl City HS

           
* - Indicates number of previous All-PacWest selections