The Golden State Athletic Conference announced today that Reese Davidson has been named the GSAC Women’s Soccer Player of the Year. She is the 10th player in program history to be so honored.
The senior from Rancho Santa Margarita is joined on the All-Conference team by senior Taylie Scott of Maple Grove, Minnesota, senior Karly Kingsley of Elk Grove, and sophomore Andie Siegel of Costa Mesa.
Davidson led the GSAC with 16 goals (nine in conference play) and had five multiple-goal games, including three hat tricks.
“Beyond the obvious that Reese is the top goal scorer of the year, in so many other ways she is deserving of this recognition. Reese provides leadership in keeping the ball for us, pressing hard and defending every time we lose it,” said Westmont head coach Jenny Jaggard. “She leads the ability for us to win the ball back when we turn it over.
“All year, Reese has intentionally been going through our freshman class and taking them out to lunch. She connects with them and makes every single person on the team feel like they belong and have a role.
“You see it in our team dynamic. Everybody loves each other and fights for each other. That starts with senior leadership. Reese is not the only one out of our group doing that, but she exemplifies it. She is a good vocal leader and leads by example as a captain.
“I am really proud of her. To get to this point, she has put in hours of time above and beyond what is expected for a player.”
Scott has started at center back in all 66 games she has played over her career.
“If you look at Taylie’s four-year experience, I don’t know that we have ever had a player more consistent,” praised Jaggard. “To be a starting center back from day one of her freshman year is amazing. She has played like a senior since day one and her maturity continues. She is a rock.
“Taylie is probably one of the most individually competitive people on the team. She takes it as a personal affront if a forward tries to beat her one-on-one. She puts everything into preventing goals against us. As a senior and a captain, she has blossomed into organizing the back line and leading and teaching everyone around her to do the magic she knows how to do.
“She was an All-American last year. That was really cool, but it also means she had a target on her back. Every forward in our conference knows that and every team is trying to find a way to break her down. She does a really good job of handling that pressure.”
Though a student at Westmont since her freshman year, Kingsley did not join the team until her junior year. This season, her third on the team, she is the second leading scorer with nine goals. She has also been credited with three assists. In the Warriors’ most recent game, she produced a hat trick against Menlo.
“We are so happy she decided to join the team,” expressed Jaggard. “Karly is a purist about the game itself. She will go down to Lovik Field by herself and spend hours and hours with the ball. You can see it in the way she plays. She has an immaculate first touch. She can strike any kind of ball because she has spent the time playing with the ball and figuring out how to make it spin off the outside of her foot or bend it with the inside.
“There is that artistry, but there is also a social dynamic. The first year she stepped into the program, it was an individual decision about showing up and playing soccer because soccer is something she loved, but she did not have a deep connection to the team. In training camp, she shared with us her journey going from a purist about soccer to recognizing that joining the team was way more than just a game. It is about the relationships and building the team around you. In that way, she is not only a purist about her own performance, but she is also helping the players around her to step up their game too. She is very quiet, but has blossomed in her own form of leadership.”
Ande Siegel is the only underclassman from Westmont to make the All-GSAC team. She has scored five goals and produced five assists this season.
“Ande has had quite a year,” reflected Jaggard. “She is a very skillful player and has a particular talent with the ability to take free kicks. I have never seen a player who can consistently hit a ball from 30 or 35 yards. She has clearly demonstrated that the first couple were not flukes. What I really admire is the diversity of the free kicks. She has hit the crazy 35 yarders multiple times, but she has also hit the clever ones where she sends in a short one to a teammate. She is paying attention to how the other team is setting up and seeing the opportunities.
“I recruited Ande to be a midfielder. In her freshman year, however, we needed an outside back. I looked at her skill set and asked her to play outside back. She worked very hard and played a very significant role there last year, even though it is not necessarily her primary spot.
“This year, with Daisy Alvarez being out at the beginning of the season, we needed someone to fill the role at holding mid. That is a very different skill set. The fact that I can now play her in either spot reflects a lot of maturity on her part. She has been a very good teammate embracing her new role. I think she is a player that we will see stepping into more of a leadership role in the next two years and continuing to score more goals.”
The Warriors finished the regular season undefeated, going 12-0-3 overall and 7-0-1 in GSAC play. Having won the GSAC Regular Season Championship, the Warriors enter the GSAC Tournament as the number one seed. Westmont has a bye in this week’s quarterfinals and will host the semifinals and championship game on Nov. 10 and 12 at Thorrington Field.
Ron Smith is the sports information director at Westmont College.
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