Five BYU players named to NCAA Division I Women’s All-West Region Team

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Ahead of the College Cup, the United Soccer Coaches has named five BYU women's soccer players All-West Region Wednesday afternoon. Mikayla Colohan, Cameron Tucker, Laveni Vaka and Jamie Shepherd were first-team selections, with goalkeeper Cassidy Smith named to the third team.

The Cougars are entering the College Cup for the first time in program history. They face West Coast Conference foe and defending national champions Santa Clara on Friday at 6:30 p.m. PST at Stevens Stadium.

Colohan, the WCC Offensive Player of the Year for the third year in a row and First-Team All-Region pick for the third time, is second in the country with 18 goals this season. Colohan also has 15 assists this season and the second most all-time assists in BYU history with 39. As a team captain, Colohan leads BYU's dangerous offense as it has been consistently ranked No. 1 in scoring offense this season, with an average of 3.50 goals per game. She is a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy and a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award.

Tucker is a three-time First Team All-Region pick. At forward, Tucker has scored 16 goals this season for BYU's No. 1 offense. She has five game-wining goals this season, including two key late-season game-winners, in overtime against No. 16 Pepperdine and against No. 1 seed Virginia in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

Shepherd, a sophomore, has played the most minutes of any BYU player this season, with 1,873. She has also started in all 22 BYU games. Shepherd has been a key element as a defensive midfielder, helping connect the BYU offense and defense, and has three assists. Shepherd scored her first goal of the season against New Mexico in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to help the Cougars to a 6-0 win. This is second first All-West Region recognition.

Vaka, a sophomore, has helped anchor BYU's back line while starting in all 22 games this season. Her speed has neutralized a myriad of opponent scoring opportunities throughout the season. She has two assists, seven shots and two shots on goal. This is her first All-West Region recognition.

Smith started all 22 of BYU's games in goal. She averaged 2.14 saves per game, had a 0.65 goals against average and .783 save percentage, with five shutouts.