UCLA's Margueritte Aozasa, Lilly Reale Headline Pac-12 Women's Soccer Awards
Before the Bruins opened up NCAA Tournament play, numerous members of the team were honored for their regular season performances.
UCLA women's soccer (17-2-0, 9-2-0 Pac-12) racked up two top awards, eight All-Pac-12 honors and two All-Freshman spots Tuesday afternoon, following the conclusion of the regular season. Margueritte Aozasa was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year in her first campaign with the Bruins, while sophomore Lilly Reale was selected as the Pac-12 Defender of the Year.
Aozasa – who was an assistant coach at Stanford for seven years before coming to Westwood – helped lead UCLA to the No. 1 ranking in the nation for the final nine weeks of the season, in addition to one of four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. The run began with upset victories on the road against then-No. 2 Duke and then-No. 1 North Carolina, helping Aozasa's squad open the year 13-0.
The Bruins’ defense was the best in the Pac-12 in 2022, allowing an average of 0.47 goals against per game, and Reale played a consistent role in the backline. The Hingham, Massachusetts, native featured and started in 18 games this season, scoring one goal and and assisting another.
A plethora of Bruins earned Pac-12 honors on top of those headliners.
Junior forward Reilyn Turner was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team, while graduate forward Ally Cook earned All-Pac-12 Second Team recognition.
Sophomore Quincy McMahon joined Reale as an All-Pac-12 First Team defender. Graduate goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy, meanwhile, was named to the All-Pac-12 Second Team in her sixth year with the Bruins. The trio helped lead UCLA to a Pac-12-best 12 clean sheets in 2022.
Four midfielders received awards from the Pac-12 as well. Senior Sunshine Fontes – who tied Turner for the team lead with nine goals – was named to the All-Pac-12 Second Team, while graduate Maricarmen Reyes and freshman Ally Lemos were named to the All-Pac-12 Third Team.
Freshman Sofia Cook earned a spot on the All-Freshman team, which Lemos also made. Cook and Lemos combined for seven goals and nine assists as first-year players.
The many heralded Bruins are gearing up for yet another NCAA Tournament run, which will begin Friday when UCLA hosts Northern Arizona in the First Round at Wallis Annenberg Stadium.
Follow Royer on Twitter at @thebenroyer
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @FN_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @FN.AllBruins
Subscribe to All Bruins on YouTube
Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA Olympic sports stories: UCLA Olympic Sports on Sports Illustrated
PHOTO COURTESY OF UCLA ATHLETICS