(Seguin) – Texas Lutheran’s Larry Schaffer and Kelly Wolfe each received major Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer awards on Wednesday.
Schaffer was named the SCAC Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year, and Wolfe picked up the SCAC’s Women’s Soccer Newcomer of the Year award.
Wolfe also was named to the All-SCAC Honorable Mention squad and to the All-Freshman Team.
Joining Wolfe and Schaffer with SCAC honors were: senior defender Mariela Candelario, junior forward Samantha Martinez, junior midfielder Monique Sierra, and first-year forward Saibree Marchand-Simons.
Candelario and Martinez were named to the All-SCAC Second Team. Sierra joined Wolfe on the All-SCAC Honorable Mention squad, and Marchand-Simons joined Wolfe on the All-Freshman Team.
Wolfe started all 11 games for the Bulldogs. She scored the game-winning goal in a April 10 conference road win over Schreiner.
Wolfe finished the season with two goals (tied for 10th in the SCAC; tied for second on team), four points (tied for 18th in the SCAC; tied for second on team), 10 shots on goal (tied for 11th in the SCAC; tied for third on team) and one game-winning goal (tied for eighth in the SCAC and tied for the Bulldog lead).
TLU posted a perfect 2-0 record in matches that Wolfe found the back of the net. Wolfe is the second Bulldog to be recognized as SCAC Newcomer of the Year. She joins former Bulldog Zoe Gulick as an award winner. Gulick won the award in 2014.
Candelario played and started in 10 games, and she had a goal and an assist. In her Bulldog career, Candelario played in 61 matches and made 57 starts.
Martinez registered five goals in 11 matches, and she added an assist. Martinez netted the game-winner in a 1-0 home conference victory over St. Thomas. She also scored on the road against Trinity. Her goal put the Bulldogs in front of the Tigers in the first half.
Sierra played and started in eight matches in 2021. She has played in 43 career matches and made 42 starts. Marchand-Simons played in 10 matches and had one start.
Schaffer, the all-time wins leader in TLU Women’s Soccer history, guided the Bulldogs to the SCAC Championship semifinal round. The Bulldogs, the No. 5 seed, upset No. 4 seed Centenary College (La.) 1-0 in Shreveport, La.
In his ninth season at the helm of the program, Schaffer led the Bulldogs to a 4-6-1 overall mark this year. The Bulldogs were 3-3-1 record in SCAC play.
After posting a .313 win percentage in league action last season, Schaffer led the program to a .500 winning percentage this season, marking an 18.7 percent improvement from a year ago. It was the greatest percentage improvement for any SCAC program from a season ago.
The SCAC Coach of the Year honor is the first for Schaffer, who is now 44-32-12 in his eight seasons in the conference. (He coached one year with TLU as a member of the American Southwest Conference.) Schaffer has an overall record of 76-65-19 with the Bulldogs.