Denise Castro Season 2024

Honors & Awards
Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year (2023)
First Team All-Mountain West (2022, 2023 & 2024)
Second Team All-Mountain West (2021)
Mountain West All-Freshman Team (2021)
Four-time Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week (Aug. 22, 2022, Sept. 25, 2023, Oct. 9, 2023 and Sept. 30, 2024)
Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week Honorable Mention (Sept. 30, 2024)
Mountain West Freshman of the Week (Sept. 13, 2021)
Mountain West Watch List (2024)

As a Senior (2024 Season)
Mountain West Rankings: 1st in shots/game, 2nd in goals, 2nd in goals/game, 2nd in shots, 3rd in points, 3rd in points/game
In Conference Play: t-1st in goals, t-1st in goals/game, t-2nd in points, t-2nd in points/game, 2nd in shots, 2nd in shots/game
NCAA Rankings: 50th in shots/game, 58th in goals, 84th in points, 90th in goals/game, 93rd in game-winning goals
Named to the Mountain West Watch List before the season and finished as a First Team All-Mountain West selection…  Started all 21 matches… Led the team with 10 goals, 23 points, 72 shots, 28 shots on goal and three game-winning goals… Tied for second with a penalty kick and fourth with three assists… Scored in the season-opener against Cal State Bakersfield (Aug. 15)… Tallied five points with a brace and an assist in the win over Eastern Washington on Sept. 15… Earned Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week and Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week Honorable Mention honors after opening conference play with two goals against Nevada (Sept. 26) and one more against UNLV (Sept. 29)…  Finished with at least one point in six consecutive matches late in the season highlighted by goals in three straight matches: Oct. 17 vs. San Jose State, Oct. 20 vs. Fresno State and Oct. 24 at Wyoming… Closed the regular season with assists against Colorado State on Oct. 27 and at New Mexico on Oct. 31… Scored 72 seconds into the Mountain West Tournament match against UNLV on Nov. 3 for the fastest MW Tournament goal in school history and the quickest overall since 2017… Took a season-high nine shots with four on goal against Oklahoma State on Aug. 31… Played 1,544 minutes including 90 minutes five times.

As a Junior (2023 Season)
Mountain West Rankings: 1st in points/game, t-2nd in goals, t-2nd in assists, 2nd in goals/game, 2nd in shots, 2nd in shots/game, 3rd in points, t-3rd in assists/game
Named the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year and First-Team All-Mountain West… Two-time Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 25 and Oct. 9) … Started all 20 matches… Led the team with 10 goals and six assists… Also finished first on the team with 64 shots and 31 shots on goal… No one had more game-winning goals than Castro’s three… Opened the season with a goal on six shots including two on goal… Had an assist against UTEP on Aug. 20… Scored another goal at Washington State on Aug. 31… Put together a two-goal performance against San Diego on Sept. 14… Earned her first weekly award of the season for having a goal and an assist each at Fresno State on Sept. 21 and at San Jose State on Sept. 24… Tallied three more assists, coming on Oct. 1 against Colorado College, on Oct. 15 at Nevada and on Oct. 22 at Colorado State… Earned another Offensive Player of the Week award after scoring the game-winning goal against Utah State on Oct. 8… Scored three more goals: at UNLV on Oct. 12, at Colorado State on Oct.22 and on Senior Day vs. New Mexico on Oct. 26… Took a single-game high six shots against Sacred Heart on Aug. 17 and against New Mexico on Oct. 26… Had five shots, all on goal, at UC San Diego on Sept. 7… Played 1542 minutes including 90 or more minutes seven times.
 
As a Sophomore (2022 Season)
Mountain West Rankings: 5th in shots, 4th in shots on goal, 5th in goals, 8th in points 
In Conference Play: 3rd in shots, 3rd in shots on goal
Named Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week (8/22) for her game winning goal against Air Force (10/2) and comeback contributing goal against Colorado College(9/29)… Named First-Team All-Conference…Started in all 20 of her appearances… Led the team with seven goals and 56 shots… Scored against Idaho (8/21), Long Beach State (8/25), Saint Mary’s (9/9), Colorado College (9/29), and Air Force (10/2)… Had both Aztec goals in a 2-1 victory over Nebraska (8/18)… Assisted a goal against Idaho (8/21), Long Beach State (8/25), San Jose State (10/6), and Nevada (10/13)… Attempted 56 shots with 22 coming on goal, including a single-game high seven against Wyoming (11/02)… Played a total of 1710 minutes and played 90 minutes or more in 13 of 20 games.

As a Freshman (2021 Season)
Mountain West Rankings: 6^th in shots, 5^th in shots per game, T-7^th in points, 8^th in points per game, T-3^rd in goals, 3^rd in goals per game
In Conference Play: 3^rd in shots, 3^rd in shots on goal
Named Mountain West Freshman of the Week (9/13) for her play against San Diego (9/10)… Named Second-Team All-Mountain West… Named to Mountain West All-Freshman Team… Started in 16 of her 18 appearances… Led the team with eight goals and 17 points… Scored against Saint Mary’s (8/26), Long Beach State (9/5), San Diego (9/10), Boise State (10/1), and Nevada (10/10)… scored twice against Nevada (10/10)… Had all three Aztec goals in a 3-0 victory over San Diego (9/10)… Assisted a goal against Boise State (10/1)… Attempted 49 shots with 25 coming on goal including a single-game high seven against Boise State (10/1)… Led offensive players with 1325 minutes and played 90 minutes or more against Washington State (9/2), Fresno State (10/14), and San Jose State (10/17).

High School/Club
A graduate of San Ysidro (Calif.) High School… Competed for Albion SC from 15U to 18U… Internationally was a member of the CONCACAF Girls' U15 Mexican Women's National Team and competed in friendlies against the United States, Russia, Portugal, North Korea, Canada, Ghana and Spain… As a 15-year-old member of Mexico's U17 National Team, played friendlies against the United States, Columbia, and England which enabled her to be part of the U17 World Cup… Her team reached the final of the 2019 U17 World Cup, where she scored in the 29^th minute of a 2-1 loss to Spain.

Personal
Majoring in interdisciplinary studies.