Shaelan Murison carried the offensive load for the UCSB women’s soccer team.
The senior forward produced 17 of the team’s 31 goals and tagged on seven assists during a 19-game season. The Gauchos went 8-5-6 overall, 4-1-3 in the Big West and earned a berth in the conference tournament semifinals.
Murison was named the Big West Offensive Player of the Year and was selected First Team All-West Region by the United Soccer Coaches.
The Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table is honoring Murison as its College Women’s Soccer Player of the Year.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Round Table is recognizing Murison and all the college and high school athletes of the year from the fall and winter seasons through a virtual Evening With The Athletes. There are no awards for spring sports athletes because their season was cut short by COVID-19.
The award winners are being presented through the Round Table’s social media platforms Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and on the Noozhawk.com Sports Page.
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Murison’s led the Big West in goals and was ranked fifth in the country. Her 41 points (two points per goal, one for an assist) also led the conference and was seventh best in Division 1 soccer.
The Santa Clara native was named Big West Offensive Player of the Week four times during the season.
“Clearly, having someone like Shea on a team provides confidence that we could score at any time,” said coach Paul Stumpf. “She scored goals in so many ways, with her head, beating defenders and shooting off the dribble, combination play, and then she could score from distance.”
Murison’s 17 goals were the most by a UCSB player since Jennifer Borcich scored the same number during the 2002 season.
Murison scored a goal in 11 matches and tallied two or more four times, including hat tricks in wins over Loyola Marymount and Hawai’i.
She assisted on the game winner in a 3-2 victory over UC Riverside that clinched a Big West Tournament for the Gauchos. Two days later, in her final match at Harder Stadium, she had a goal and an assist in a 2-2 draw with UC Irvine.
“She came to us as a very talented soccer player,” Stumpf said. “I was very proud of her development off the soccer field. She had to work hard to get good grades, and she really committed herself in the sports performance portion of her game. Without that, I’m not sure she would have been given this opportunity to play professionally here in the U.S.”
Prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus in the U.S., Murison was on the preseason roster of the professional Utah Royals of the National Women’s Soccer League.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
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