Samantha Murphy was named Second Team All-Big West while Bryn Hudson and Camila Schafer earned All-Big West Honorable Mentions, the conference announced on Thursday.
“I am so proud how far the team as a whole has come this year,” UCSB Head Coach Serela Kay said.
At utility, Murphy provided UCSB with 34 goals and eight assists over the season, as she finished with a team-high 42 points. While she was efficient on offense in shooting 42.5 percent, the junior was also strong defensively in wrangling 20 steals, second-most on the team. Murphy led the Gauchos in scoring in seven different matches, which includes UCSB’s 19-7 rout of Concordia where she netted a season-best five goals.
She also played a pivotal role in the Gauchos’ regular season finale when she found the back of the net three times against No. 11 Long Beach State to lift her team to a 8-7 victory that clinched them the fourth seed in the Big West Tournament. That performance earned her Big West Player of the Week honors.
This is the third consecutive season that Murphy has garnered all-conference accolades, as she was an honorable mention last year and a second teamer in 2013.
“Sam stepped into a leadership role with ease and grace both in and out of the pool,” Kay noted. “She is a consistent force in all aspects of the game and will be exciting to watch her continue to improve in 2016.”
Bryn Hudson was a strong offensive force for the Gauchos this season. In limited play, she netted 16 goals and was second on the team with 10 assists. The attacker particularly had a standout performance at last weekend’s Big West Tournament when she ended UCSB’s double overtime marathon with Long Beach State in delivering the game-winner with three minutes left to play. In the opening round of the tournament, the junior co-led the team with a pair of goals. Against conference opponents, Hudson came up with six scores.
“Bryn rebounded after missing over 10 games early in the season from mononucleosis and became a huge presence as a southpaw,” Kay said. “She holds the vision to create scoring opportunities as a playmaker in addition to putting the ball in the back of the net herself.”
Though only a freshman, Camila Schafer led the Gauchos in the scoring column with 36 goals. It did not take long for the utility to make an impact at UCSB, as she scored 12 goals in her first collegiate tournament. At the UCSB Winter Invitational, Schafer netted seven of her goals against ranked opponents, which included a hat trick against No. 17 Michigan. On the heels of her hot start, Schafer was awarded the season’s first player of the week honor.
The freshman won the weekly accolade for the second time in leading the Gauchos to three victories against nationally ranked opponents at the Aggie Shootout in Davis. Highlighting her impressive weekend was her five-goal effort against No. 10 UC Davis, which also served as UCSB’s conference opener. She buried five goals against the Aggies, including a hat trick in the third quarter, to spearhead the Gauchos’ 7-5 victory.
In commenting on her standout rookie, Kay said, “As a freshman, Camila created scoring opportunities immediately providing our offensive attack that extra edge.
Overall, Schafer paced UCSB in scoring in sixth different matches, shot at a 44.4 percent clip, and picked up a total of 12 steals.
To see the rest of the all-conference honorees, click here.
