Alumni

Sept. 2, 2014

IRVING, Texas – Baylor soccer forward Precious Akanyirige was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, the league announced Tuesday.

The Pleasanton, Calif., native is the sixth all-time at BU to earn the newcomer honor and third under the Jobsons. Sophomore teammate Ashley York was the last to garner the honor as she did so after her first collegiate weekend on Aug. 27, 2013. Overall, the Bears have had 29 Big 12 weekly honorees and 12 under the Jobsons.

Akanyirige took just one shot in two games during the week but made it count, converting the game-winner as Baylor won at No. 23 BYU, 2-1, on Monday. After York corralled a goalie kick in the 46th minute, Akanyirige took the pass and booted a left-footed shot to the top left of the goal in a one-on-one situation with BYU’s goalie. Akanyirige has played in all four of BU’s games this year, including three starts, and has taken five shots (two on goal) in 179 minutes of action.

Akanyirige and Co. return to action this weekend at home as the Bears (3-1-0) face Incarnate Word on Friday at 7 p.m. CT on senior night and Northwestern State on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Senior captain Alana D’Onofrio was named to the First Team All-Big Sky Conference selection.
D’Onofrio was a part of a great defense this year that allowed only 0.94 goals per game. The captain fromPleasanton, Calif. was also named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week twice this season and recorded an assist against Southern Utah. Her first honor came on Sept. 10 as D’Onofrio help shutout UNLV.
“I think it is a deserving honor for Alana and our whole backline,” said head coach Andre Luciano. “Her work ethic and commitment to become one of the best defenders in the Big Sky was apparent on Sunday night.” 

Alana played at the competitive level for the Pleasanton Rage for 9 years. She is a bio-med major/History minor graduating in May 2014.

Dani Rodriques (on the left), who played for the Pleasanton RAGE U17 and U18 ECNL teams was named to the Mountain West Conference All Tournament Team. Dani is a sophomore for Fresno State. RAGE has two other starters on the Fresno team, Amanda Nunes and Alyssa Holsworth, both freshmen. Fresno compiled a notable record of 7-3-1 in conference play this season.

Posted: 11/18/13

The Golden State Athletic Conference has announced that Westmont goalkeeper Lindsey Smith has been named the Women’s Soccer Co-Player of the Year. Smith shares the honor with Vanguard forward Jordan Davidson.
“This recognition has been three years in the making,” said Westmont head coach Kristi Kiely of Smith’s award. “I thought she was, if not the best, one of the best keepers in the conference her sophomore year. Last year, she was good, but was hampered by her injury. This year, it was the culmination of everything – her hard work and being injury free.”
This is the third All-GSAC Team selection for Smith who played throughout the 2012 season with a torn ligament in her elbow.
In 2013, playing in the strongest conference for women’s soccer in the NAIA, Smith has allowed just six goals and ranks second in the NAIA with a goals-against average of 0.38. She has tallied seven shutouts and combined with sophomore keeper Lauren Dorr for six shared shutouts.
“Lindsey has been absolutely excellent,” praised Kiely. “In the big games, she is the one who has kept us in the games and given us a chance to be successful on the other end of the field. She has been a leader in the back and has made huge saves. I am thankful that she has been recognized for her talent, because she is one of the best in the country.”

Article Written by J.R. Eskilson, ESNN
Published: August 5, 2013

Brianna Nicholas, Forward, Pleasanton Rage

Class: 2014

Commitment: Army

Some people are destined for more, and Brianna Nicholas is well aware that requires some sacrifices.

“I am proud to say that I am going to be attending West Point, and that I will be serving my country after I graduate,” Nicholas told TopDrawerSoccer.com. “My college experience will be far different than the normal college athlete. I will be studying, playing soccer, while also learning how to be the best soldier and leader I can be.”

Through her play in the ECNL with Pleasanton Rage, Nicholas drew interest from a number of colleges, which she called an educational process.

“The college selection process has been a time of tremendous growth and learning for me,” Nicholas said. “Playing with the Pleasanton Rage ECNL team, I have been lucky to play in an environment that exposes me to many different colleges and coaches.”

When talking about her commitment, the phrases that typically dot a commitment story rarely come up, as Nicholas has a grand picture beyond her next five years.

“What West Point has to offer really hits home for me, and I will have the honor to serve my country, make a difference in the world, and be a part of something bigger than myself,” she said. “This opportunity is a life changing one – I get to attend a top-notch university and graduate as an enlisted officer in the United States Army.”

Reaching this point, and making this decision, could only be achieved with a support network and the future Army forward gave credit to hers.

“I am very grateful for the support of my family, coaches and teammates when making this decision, and I would like to thank them for everything they’ve done,” Nicholas said. “I would not be the player and person I am today without their guidance and support.”

Taken from TopDrawerSoccer.com

posted 8/5/13

Pleasanton RAGE hosted the 2013 college signing night honoring RAGE seniors Wednesday, February 6, 2013 at the Pleasanton Marriott. Family, teammates, coaches, RAGE board members, and staff all gathered along with Amador Valley High School Principal, Jim Hansen to celebrate the signing seniors’ achievement. 

College signing night is the first Wednesday in February when high school seniors can sign a binding National Letter of Intent for NCAA college athletics. At this event, 14 seniors that have played in the Pleasanton RAGE girls soccer club anywhere from 1-14 years officially signed their intent to continue to play soccer for colleges and universities across the United States. The girls were individually recognized by RAGE director of coaching and player development, Philippe Blin.

Here are the RAGE signing seniors for 2013:

Haley Chow – Princeton

Marissa Scheid – UC San Diego

Emmy Rodriguez – University of Oregon

Alyssa Holsworth – Fresno State

Nicole Heller – UC San Diego

Kylee Southwell – UC San Diego

Gabrielle Ko – UC Irvine

Tamara Aboumrad – UC Berkeley

Sahar Arghandiwal – Cal State Los Angeles

Alyssa Devine – Marquette University

Amanda Nunes – Fresno State

Marisa Rodrigues – Southeastern Louisiana University

Zoe Rogers-Lemke – Cal State Monterey Bay

Shayda Haddad – UC San Diego

Women’s soccer goalkeeper Ani Nahapetian was the standout player during a game against Marist College with six second-half saves, making her The Brown and White’s Athlete of the Week.
Although freshman Nahapetian has only just entered the Lehigh community, she is already making an impact on the program. Originally a Northern California native, Nahapetian was recruited while playing as a high school athlete at a national tournament in Seattle.
Last year, she came to Lehigh’s soccer camp to show off her goalkeeping prowess before choosing to commit. A coaching change that brought current women’s Assistant Coach Amy Houghonto the staff forced Nahapetian to demonstrate her skills in order to keep her previously scouted place on Lehigh’s roster.
In comparison to her fellow student-athletes, Nahapetian said she was late in the game in regard to committing to Lehigh. Generally, the most competitive athletes know where they’re going to college years in advance. She also said that she came to Lehigh to watch the team play several other games after committing to the Mountain Hawks.
In her second performance as a Hawk, Nahapetian has already earned her spot on the team’s roster. In the Hawks’ game versus Marist College, which entered the game with a record of 5-2 on the season, Nahapetian proved she’s already more than comfortable playing in brown and white.
Opportunities certainly haven’t been handed to her, though. She’s had to fight her way for a spot in between the pipes.
“I’ve really had to work my way into playing time,” she said. “It makes sense because I’m a freshman, so I have to prove myself. I have to earn my spot.”
The morning of the Marist game, Nahapetian said she was called into the coaches’ office and informed that she would be playing in the game.
“The coaches asked me to come in and said that I’d be splitting time for that game,” she said. “I felt like this was my opportunity to prove myself.”
Balancing classes with athletics has proven to be less of a challenge than expected for the freshman, who is already thinking she wants to major in bioengineering. But she’s proud to see a lifetime of dedication and work pay off.
Nahapetian has played soccer ever since she was a kid, choosing to follow her passion all the way to college.
“Being a goalkeeper has really been drilled into me,” she said.
She added that having played for so long has put her in different types of situations that have allowed her to grow as a player. At this point, her reactions in goal are completely natural.
“Having played for so long, I just let instincts take over during the game,” she said. “For me it’s really a process of almost not thinking about the game,” she said. “If I start thinking about the game I’ll get nervous and I won’t do well. I just shut everything else out and play.”
Though the team hasn’t had the start they’d like, Nahapetian remains optimistic about the rest of the season. Not only do the Hawks have a young team, she explained, but they also have a lot of talent that they haven’t quite figured out how to mold together yet. She mentioned that coming in as a new player has been an opportunity for her to really get to know the players around her.
Even more than that, though, she added that the team has been focusing on playing in the short run.
“What really works for our team is taking it one game at a time,” she said. “By only focusing on one game, we can prepare for a single upcoming team. We definitely have practices geared toward getting ready to play specific teams, but we just take the games individually for the most part.”
Nahapetian continued to emphasize the importance of individual preparation for games.
“We have scouting reports for all of the other teams, but we don’t even look at those until we’ve finished the game before and are ready to look ahead,” she said. “That’s what the coaches take care of.”
“It’s about learning everyone’s strengths,” she said. “We just have to learn how to use each player to their full potential.”

Story by Brown and White sports writer Christina Cavanaugh, ’14.

Oregon Women’s Soccer Team Video which features Ally Rodrguez/Rage ’93 team and Kelsey Foo who was coached by Gordy and Darrin on the Cal-North State and Regional ODP Teams.