[2023 All-CCAA Women's Soccer Team] [All-CCAA Video]

The California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) women's soccer coaches have made their selections for the All-CCAA team and individual honors for the 2023 season.
 
Cal State San Marcos' Natalie Paulson led the way as the CCAA Defensive Player of the Year and the overall CCAA Player of the Year. Cal Poly Pomona's Jay Mason collected CCAA Coach of the Year honors for guiding the Broncos to their first-ever outright conference championship.
 
New this season, the CCAA issued positional Player of the Year honors to top performers at each level of the field. The CCAA Forward of the Year award went to Stanislaus State's Alexis Brewah. Cal State LA's Taesja Paopao earned Goalkeeper of the Year, and Cal State East Bay's Mika Sayfurahman was voted Midfielder of the Year. Paulson received the Defender of the Year honors.
 
The Newcomer of the Year award went to Cal Poly Humboldt's Emilia Long, and Aliah Avila from Stanislaus State was selected as the Freshman of the Year.

 

Natalie Paulson anchored one of the best defensive units in the conference and was the leading scorer for Cal State San Marcos. The Cougars went unbeaten in the conference (6-0-5), placing second for the program's best finish since joining the CCAA. CSUSM led the conference with 11 shutouts and was second in goals against average (.588). It was undefeated in matches in which Paulson scored (3-0-3). She finished her sophomore campaign with six goals, including three game-winners.

 

Stanislaus State's Alexis Brewah led the CCAA in goals and assists to pick up Forward of the Year honors. She scored eight goals to go along with nine assists. She had three more assists than any student-athlete in the league, and three of her goals were game-winners. The Warriors were 5-1-1 in matches where Brewah scored a goal and 6-2-0 in matches where she had an assist.

 

Taesja Paopao made it two consecutive CCAA Goalkeeper of the Year honors for Cal State LA. The junior from Oceanside led the conference keepers in nearly every category while helping the Golden Eagles go unbeaten in the conference (5-0-6). She paced the CCAA and ranked fifth in NCAA Div. II with 11 shutouts in 18 matches. She registered a .887 save percentage (sixth NCAA) and a .393 goals against average (10th NCAA).
 

Cal State East Bay's Mika Sayfurahman collected CCAA Midfielder of the Year. She was a two-time Pixellot/CCAA Offensive Player of the Week and tied for the conference lead with eight goals. She was also third with 19 points. Sayfurahman came on last in the season, scoring goals in five of her six final matches and pointing in all six. The sophomore finished the season by scoring in three consecutive matches, including against the top two teams in the CCAA.
 

Cal Poly Humboldt's Emilia Long made a splash in her first week in the CCAA and carried that momentum through to become the first Lumberjack to earn a CCAA special honor in program history. In her second match, she scored four goals against the eventual GNAC champions, Seattle Pacific, including the game-winner with two seconds remaining. The junior completed the regular season tied for the CCAA lead with eight goals and second with 22 points.
 

Aliah Avila was a starter from the moment she put on the Stanislaus State uniform. The forward from Madera scored three goals and tied for second in the conference with six assists. Avila's game picked up as the season went along. She scored three goals in the final six matches, and she posted assists in five of her final seven contests.
 

Cal Poly Pomona's Jay Mason was selected as the CCAA Coach of the Year after leading the Broncos to a 10-4-3 record, including an 8-2-1 mark in conference. After finishing below .500 last season (6-9-3), Mason led CPP to a four-match turnaround en route to capturing the league title. His team put together a nine-match unbeaten streak in the middle of the season, and it went 6-2-0 on the road.
 
Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State LA tied for the CCAA lead with five all-conference selections. Each placed three student-athletes on the first team and another two on the second. Three student-athletes represented Cal State San Marcos on the All-CCAA first or second team. Cal Poly Humboldt, Cal State San Bernardino, Chico State, and Stanislaus State each had two.
 
Brewah and Cal State LA's Jaclyn Orozco are the only repeat first-team selections. Cal Poly Pomona's Liberty Ortiz captured first-team honors after being a second-team selection in 2022. Joining them on the first team were Nathaly Losada Lucumi (CSUSB), Tara Oper (CPP), Auburn Burnett (CPP), Hannah Ramos (CSUSM), and Shelby Melin (CSLA).
 
The semifinals of the 2023 CCAA Women's Soccer Tournament at Cardinale Stadium in Seaside is coming up on Friday, Nov. 10. No. 3 seed Cal State LA will face No. 2 Cal State San Marcos in the early game at 4 p.m. Cal Poly Pomona and Cal Poly Humboldt will play the nightcap starting at 7 p.m. GoCCAA.org/WStourney.
 

2023 CCAA Women's Soccer All-Conference Team
Player of the Year: Natalie Paulson, Cal State San Marcos
Forward of the Year: Alexis Brewah, Stanislaus State
Midfielder of the Year: Mika Sayfurahman, Cal State East Bay
Defender of the Year: Natalie Paulson, Cal State San Marcos
Goalkeeper of the Year: Taesja Paopao, Cal State LA
Newcomer of the Year: Emilia Long, Cal Poly Humboldt
Freshman of the Year: Aliah Avila, Stanislaus State
Coach of the Year: Jay Mason, Cal Poly Pomona
All-CCAA First Team
Name	Yr.	Pos.	School	Hometown
Taesja Paopao	Jr.	GK	Cal State LA	Oceanside
Alexis Brewah*	Sr.	F	Stanislaus State	Stockton
Nathaly Losada Lucumi^	Sr.	F	Cal State San Bernardino	Bogota, Colombia
Tara Oper^	Jr.	F	Cal Poly Pomona	Riverside
Auburn Burnett	Jr.	MF	Cal Poly Pomona	Placentia
Hannah Ramos	Jr.	MF	Cal State San Marcos	Murrieta
Mika Sayfurahman	So.	MF	Cal State East Bay	Livermore
Shelby Melin	Jr.	MF	Cal State LA	Pasadena
Jaclyn Orozco*	Jr.	D	Cal State LA	Ontario
Liberty Ortiz&	So.	D	Cal Poly Pomona	Chino Hills
Natalie Paulson	So.	D	Cal State San Marcos	Long Beach
All-CCAA Second Team
Name	Yr.	Pos.	School	Hometown
Bella Hara	Jr.	GK	Cal Poly Pomona	San Diego
Jaclyn Cuevas	Jr.	F	Cal Poly Pomona	Ramona
Nani Kia'aina	So.	F	Cal State San Marcos	Torrance
Emilia Long	Jr.	F	Cal Poly Humboldt	Port Angeles, Wash.
Aliah Avila	Fr.	MF	Stanislaus State	Madera
Natalie Mendoza	Jr.	MF	Chico State	Elk Grove
Jassmin Ortiz	Jr.	MF	Cal State LA	Wilmington
Unieque Solis	So.	MF	Cal State San Bernardino	San Bernardino
Klayre Barres	Jr.	D	Chico State	Eureka
Thaiz Hernandez^	Jr.	D	Cal State LA	Hemet
Megan Janikowski	Jr.	D	Cal Poly Humboldt	Fallbrook
Honorable Mentions
GK - Malia Allen (STAN), Emma Hofmann&# (CHICO), Allison Marcure^ (CSUSM), Leila Peregrina (CSUSB), Jordan Smith (CSUEB). F - Frida Duran Arellano^ (HUM), Kaylen Gonzalez (CSUSB), Amelia McManus* (CSUMB), Morgan Pearson& (CSUEB), Avery Pieri (CHICO), Erin Schrock (CSLA). MF - Lauryn Bailey (CSUDH), Julia Betti^ (SSU), Claire Hernandez& (CSUSM), Brynn Howard& (CHICO), Natalia Huntington^ (CSUSM), Hannah Pieri (CHICO), Tiger Rendon (CSUMB), Marisa Salazar* (CPP), Samantha Shim^ (SFSU). D - Bella Anderson (CPP), Ashley Frye (SSU), Rosalie Hawkins (CSUSB), Yohanna Limon (CSUMB), Destiny Moedano (CSLA), Danielle Paulson (CSUSM), Makeila Yancey (STAN).
* - 2022 All-CCAA first team selection; & - 2022 All-CCAA second team selection; ^ - 2022 All-CCAA Honorable Mention;  # - 2021 All-CCAA first team selection