Dec. 4, 2013
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State women's soccer quartet of Haley Palmer, Victoria Barba, Carli Johnson and Hannah Keane were named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) all-Pacific Region team. The four honorees give SDSU nine in the last two seasons, which is the most over a two-year period in program history.
For the second season in row, Palmer landed on the first team after starting all 22 games this past season. A senior defender from Windsor, Calif., the two-time Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year scored two goals and added three assists en route to seven points. Palmer was a part of the stellar backline that helped SDSU blank 11 opponents, including seven in league play and Boise State in the MW championship game.
Barba is a first-time all-region performer, earning her way onto the third team. The sophomore from Albuquerque, N.M., scored the second-most goals on the team (3) and had a team-high five assists. Her 11 points on the season ranked second only to Keane. The first-team all-conference midfielder also had the highest shot-on-goal percentage (.607) among her teammates with at least 20 attempts.
Johnson teamed with Palmer to form one of the most formidable backlines in the nation and garnered third-team honors for her effort. Hailing from Santa Rosa, Calif., Johnson, who landed on the all-region team for the second straight season, started 22 games and played the most minutes on the team with 1,963. The first-team all-MW performer tied for second on the team with three goals and added an assist.
Also on the third team is Keane, who led the Aztecs offensively with a team-best 12 goals, seven game-winners and 28 points. A first-team all-MW forward from Sacramento, Calif., Keane put nearly half of her attempts on goal (.489), while averaging 4.2 shots per game. In one eight-game stretch in the middle of the season, Keane scored nine goals, including five game-winners, and two assists.
The Aztecs, who were the only MW team to have their players honored, finished the 2013 campaign with a 13-7-2 record and a Mountain West-best record of 9-1. For the second straight year, San Diego State captured the MW regular-season title, won the conference tournament championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament.