Westmont forward Bri Johnson of Highlands Ranch, Colorado was named Golden State Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Player of the Year and first-year head coach Jenny Jaggard was selected Coach of the Year.
Five other Warrior women earned places on the GSAC All-Conference Team with Johnson: goalkeeper Gabi Haw of Costa Mesa, defender Kira Nemeth of San Clemente, forward Maddi Berthoud of Rowley, Mass., midfielder Savannah Scott of Auburn and midfielder Teagan Matye of Roseville.
Johnson led the GSAC in scoring over eight conference games with 22 points on 10 goals and two assists. The junior brought out her scoring punch in the biggest games, finding the net twice in the Warriors’ 3-0 rout of defending National Champions and then-number one ranked William Carey back in September. Johnson is the ninth Warrior named Conference Player of the Year.
“Honestly, I’m not surprised that Bri is player of the year,” said Jaggard. “She has been dominant in conference as well as very consistent. It is tough to be a consistent goal scorer, and she has done that all season, especially in GSAC. She works just as hard for us defensively, too. When we press, she’s on the first line of applying that pressure and she’s strong. I’m happy for Bri and appreciate what she has done for our team.”
Junior goalkeeper Gabi Haw, a 2018 GSAC Player of the Year honoree, led the GSAC in goals against with only 11 allowed in 16 games for a 0.69 goals-against average. Haw was named NAIA Defensive Player of the Week in September and was honored twice as GSAC Defensive Player of the Week in 2019. She recorded 10 shutouts on the season.
“Gabi has kept us in some close games with some super saves,” said Jaggard. “She’s such a great teammate, too. She is such an encouraging person. She is respected as a player but she’s loved by her teammates.
“One of her best skills as a keeper is how she starts the attack from her distribution whether it’s her punts or her throws, she sparks the offense as much as she anchors the defense. Gabi is a difference maker.”
Kira Nemeth, senior defender and co-captain, anchored one of the top defenses in the nation. Nemeth was also named to the 2018 All-GSAC team. She also contributed nine points and tallied the game winning goal versus Arizona Christian in the season finale to ensure the Warriors a share of the GSAC title.
“Kira’s shoes are too big to fill,” admitted Jaggard. “She’s been a big part of our attack. She has a lot of ground to cover on both offense and defense so she has a lot of one-on-one matchups and she wins those battles regularly. She’s been a vital part of our leadership group and she took that role very seriously and effectively.”
Maddi Berthoud, a senior co-captain, contributed 21 points on eight goals and five assists. She will finish her career at Westmont as a top ten all-time scorer in program history. Berthoud has been an All-GSAC player all four seasons she has played for the Warriors. She was named to the NAIA All-American Honorable Mention list in 2016 and 2018, and was an NAIA Scholar-Athlete in 2018.
“It will be hard to replace someone who has as much drive as Maddi Berthoud,” said Jaggard. “Maddi loves the game. She works at it and puts in 100% effort on her soccer. Her one-on-one skill is unmatched. She is patient and has such great tempo, unhurried, but quick.”
Junior midfield/defender Savannah Scott anchored the back line for the Warriors, starting all 16 games and playing the third most minutes. Scott has started all 56 Westmont games played since her freshman season. She scored two goals and two assists on the season.
“Holding mids tend to get overlooked for award teams so I’m pleased for Savannah that she is recognized for her skill,” said Jaggard. “She’s been one of our overall rocks on defense. Her spirit animal is a honey badger and that’s how she defends. She just badgers the ball until she gets it.
“Her timing and understanding of the game is high. She knows when to swing it and when to return it. She’s a smart and hard-working player.”
Sophomore midfielder Teagan Matye has been named to the All-GSAC team for the second consecutive season. Matye contributed the second most assists this season (four) and scored one goal. She was also named to the 2018 All-American Honorable Mention list.
Jaggard completed her first season with a record of 12-2-1and led the Warriors to a share of the GSAC regular season title with a record of 7-1. Along the way, her team upset the NAIA number one-ranked team William Carey (Miss.) in a 3-0 shutout.
Prior to her hiring in the spring of 2018, Jaggard served as an assistant coach at Chico State, where she helped lead the Wildcats to a combined 53-25-14 record. She becomes the third Westmont head coach to win this honor.
The Warriors will play next Thursday, Nov. 14, at 1:30 p.m. in a semifinal game of the GSAC Tournament Championship hosted at Thorrington Field.