Santa Monica Picks Up Two Postseason Awards After Title Run
Santa Monica College collected two major postseason awards after claiming the program's third title in recent history with an 11-1-2 record in the Western State Conference (South). This is the first conference crown for the Corsairs since they made a back-to-back run in 2017 and 2018 while the league was split into three divisions.
SMC's Bella Velazco was dubbed the Defensive Player of the Year after a solid showing during her sophomore campaign. Velazco tallied three goals and one assist while helping SMC work towards a goals-against average of 0.15 and eight shutouts during WSC South action. Aaron Benditson was honored as the Coach of the Year after leading the Corsairs to the top for the third time in his career.
Antelope Valley's Megan Salvesvold was named as the Offensive Player of the Year after producing 12 goals and seven assists against league opponents. The sophomore midfielder closed the season with a final tally of 39 points with 15 goals and nine assists through 19 games.
Glendale's Ashley Messier rounded out the list of superlative honorees with the Goalie of the Year nod. The freshman keeper collected 121 saves after spending 11 games in the box during the conference schedule. Messier posted a season-high of 16 saves in the showdown versus Canyons back in October.
