Goodson, Taylor honored

UC Irvine junior CoCo Goodson has been named first-team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America.

Anteaters’ senior Tanya Taylor is a third-team honoree.

The duo are the first women’s soccer players in the 27-year history of the program to earn All-American recognition.

Goodson, a transfer from Texas, was the Big West Conference Defender of the Year after scoring nine goals, second-best among conference players, and helping the regular-season conference champions (19-3-2) post 11 shutouts in her first season at UCI.

Goodson, who played two seasons as a forward at Texas, was the Big 12 Conference Newcomer of the Year in 2008. Her five game-winning goals were also tops in the Big West in 2010.

“[Goodson] is an aggressive competitor in the air at both ends of the field and her goal-scoring record speaks for itself,” Coach Scott Juniper said. “Her physical qualities are obvious and her fierce competitive nature stands out to everyone.”

Taylor, a forward who was the Big West Offensive Player of the Year, led the conference in goals (11) and assists (12). The 12 assists are a school single-season record and she was one of nine women’s players in the nation to record double-digit goals and assists this season.

Taylor ranks third in UCI career annals in assists (21), fourth in points (69) and is tied for fourth in goals (24).

“I would not have traded her for any forward in the country,” Juniper said of Taylor. “Her contributions over her four years are well-documented [statistically], but there are no statistics to define the impact she has also had on the culture of our team.”

The duo helped Coach Juniper’s squad set a school record for wins, tie the Big West single-season wins record and become the first team in the history of the conference to win all of its conference regular-season games, going 8-0. After falling to Long Beach State in the conference tournament title game, the ‘Eaters earned the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth as an at-large entry.

They then defeated Arizona State and Atlantic Coast Conference champion Wake Forest, before falling to Washington, 1-0, in double overtime in the round of 16.

Goodson and Taylor will be honored at the annual All-American luncheon, Jan. 15 at the Hilton Baltimore Hotel, as part of the 2011 NSCAA convention.

— From staff reports