OKLAHOMA CITY – The Sooner Athletic Conference announced the 2019-20 Women's Soccer Scholar-Athletes on Monday as eight student-athletes from Mid-America Christian made the esteemed list.
To receive SAC Scholar-Athlete honors, a player must be a junior or above by academic standing with at least a 3.5 cumulative grade-point average, appear on the eligibility certificate for an NAIA-recognized sport and have either attended two full years as a non-transfer or one full year as a transfer.
Overall, the Sooner Athletic Conference placed 48 student-athletes between its 10 teams while the Evangels made up three of the seven student-athletes with 4.0 GPAs.
"Extremely proud of our team this past year," said MACU Head Coach Evan Dresel. "Not only for what we achieved on the field, but also for what we achieved off of it. Having eight players on this prestigious list is a great achievement for us and sets the bar pretty high for future teams in our program."
A junior academically and a redshirt freshman athletically, Kyleigh Gibson has accumulated a perfect 4.0 GPA while double majoring in Biology and Psychology.
The Moore, Okla. native was an All-SAC Second Team honoree and a NCCAA Second Team All-American in her first season on the pitch, scoring a team-leading 14 goals and finished second on the team in both assists with five and points with 33.
The flashy forward scored multiple goals in four different matches over the course of the 2019 campaign, including a two-goal effort in the Evangels' 4-0 victory over Erskine (S.C.) on Dec. 3 in the first match of pool play at the NCCAA National Championships.
A midfielder from Palma de Mallorca, Spain, Franco earned All-SAC Second Team honors after leading MACU to its second-most winning season in program history, closing out the campaign with a 14-6-1 record and an appearance at the NCCAA National Championships after defeating Southwestern Christian 4-0 in the NCCAA Central Region Championship on Nov. 19 at Evangel Field.
The Psychology major with a 4.0 GPA made 19 starts during the 2019 season, scoring a pair of goals and notching three assists. Franco's first goal in an Evangels uniform came in a pivotal 70th minute at Wayland Baptist on Oct. 1, 2019 as her equalizer allowed for MACU to escape from Plainview, Texas with a 1-1 tie.
Franco's other score came at No. 10 John Brown, punching through the game-tying goal in the 61st minute, but the Evangels couldn't hold off the red-hot Golden Eagles on Senior Night on their home turf.
The third Evangels player to notch a 4.0 GPA following her junior year was Rachael Bond. The Midwest City, Oklahoma product is majoring in Biology at MACU and competed in 10 matches during the 2019 campaign.
Paola Camacho wrapped up her MACU career with SAC Scholar-Athlete honors, graduating from MACU in May with a 3.51 GPA with a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and Ethics.
The midfielder from Anzoategui, Mexico scored six goals and dished out four assists over the course of the season. In the NCCAA Central Region Championship match against Southwestern Christian, Camacho scored a career-high two goals to help lead the Evangels to their fourth ever appearance at the NCCAA Division I National Championships.
Starting every single game for MACU during her first season with the program, junior forward Kelsey Henry closed out the year with a 3.83 GPA with a major emphasis in Biology.
The Western Texas College transfer from Arima, Trinidad & Tobago finished second on the team with five assists while also scoring four goals for 13 points.
Henry led the Evangels to their first victory of the season over Arizona Christian on Sept. 2, scoring two of MACU's four goals in the 4-1 win. Henry also notched a pair of assists in MACU's 4-0 win over Erskine at the NCCAA National Championships.
Another junior transfer from Western Texas College, Sylvie Willie earned SAC Scholar-Athlete honors after accumulating a 3.60 GPA while majoring in Business Administration and Ethics at MACU.
In her first season with the program, the midfielder from Dennery, St. Lucia finished third on the team with nine goals scored and was one of four players on the team to record 20 or more points. In a 15-0 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State on Oct. 25, Willie tied Kaci Power's NAIA era single-game scoring record with a career-best five goals in the contest.
A junior midfielder from Moore, Oklahoma, Alex White finished out the 2019-20 academic year with a 3.69 GPA. Also a Business Admin & Ethics major, White saw action in 20 games and made 12 starts while logging more than 1000 minutes of on-field action.
The three-year player turned in her career-best game in the victory over the Aggies, scoring a goal and tallying an assist for a career-best three points.
Rounding out the honorees, Ana Luiza Rodrigues graduated from Mid-America Christian with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and Ethics with a 3.93 GPA. The Belo Horizonte, Brazil native competed in three matches for MACU during her final season.
To view the complete list of MACU's Scholar-Athlete recipients, check out the list below.
SAC Women's Soccer Scholar-Athletes
Rachael Bond*
Paola Camacho
Kyleigh Gibson*
Kelsey Henry
Marga Franco*
Ana Luiza Rodrigues
Alex White
Sylvie Willie
*-denotes 4.0 GPA
