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Eight Northwest College athletes from the men’s soccer and volleyball teams were honored for their performances this fall, earning All-Region IX North awards.
The men’s soccer team had its best season since 2012, finishing 5-5-2 and making a trip to the Region IX tournament semifinals. Sergio Garcia Santamaria, Alejandro Fernandes and Carlos Solmolinos Bravo earned first team laurels while Daniel Lobera, Jarret Shrum and Renan DaSilva made the second team.
Fernandes was stellar at midfield and an offensive threat for the Trappers all season long, finishing tied for second in Region IX North with five assists and tied for fourth with 13 points on the season. The native of Granada, Spain made a huge assist in Northwest’s upset win over Northeastern Junior College Oct. 20, to go up 2-1 in the 60th minute.
Santamaria was the team’s offensive workhorse, leading the team with five goals and 29 shots on net. The Spaniard netted a hat trick with three goals on five shots Sept. 2 against Colorado Northwestern. He also assisted on the only goal in a 1-0 win over Gillette College on Sept. 29.
Bravo joined Fernandes at midfield and earned three assists and one goal, while keeping up the offensive pressure with 12 shots on goal. He was one of five Trapper goal-scorers in the team’s 5-1 home finale win Oct. 10 over Western Wyoming.
Lobera was the Trapper’s only returning all-region member and assisted Matheus Macedo in the 12th minute of the Northeastern playoff game to tie the score at 1-1. The Lander native will graduate from Northwest this spring.
Shrum finished tied for third in assists with four on the season, two coming in the team’s home finale.
Freshman center back Renan DaSilva provided strong offensive and defensive play and was also a member of the all-region IX tournament team with Fernandes. DaSilva had a crucial goal in the Northeastern win.
The volleyball team finished with a 17-12 (8-7 Region IX) overall record and advanced to the second round of the Region IX tournament. The Trappers swept Otero Junior College in three straight sets before falling in back-to-back, six-set matches to Western Wyoming and Western Nebraska.
Shania Warren and Tammy Maddock were nominated all-Region IX, leading the team in multiple categories.
Warren was a stellar all-around player with 2.51 kills per set and 1.03 blocks per set. She also topped the Region IX north division with a .313 hitting percentage, a stat good enough for 41st in the country.
The former Star Valley player was a major force behind the Trappers’ 2018 success. She put out a stunning performance in the Region IX tournament with 30 kills over three matches. It was the final season for the former Wyoming All-State high school player.
Maddock, a native of Shoshoni, was second on the team and fifth in the division with a .251 hitting percentage. She had six blocks and four kills against Otero and 10 kills against Western Wyoming during Region IX tournament play. It was also her final season with the Trappers as a sophomore.