Total Futbol Players Shine in College

December 19, 2017

Clockwise from center: Amber Stearns (Texas), Rubii Tamen (Amherst), Becca Callison (George Mason), Alia Abu Hawa (Virginia Tech) and Sara Wilson (Florida).

2017 saw 39 Total Futbol alums on the rosters of 32 different schools, with 13 freshmen making their collegiate debuts while three seniors played in their final college games. Numerous accolades and notable achievements included regular season and tournament championships, First Team All-Conference accolades, and academic honor roll awards.

TF alums played in a total of 524 college games this season (starting in 234 of those contests), collectively scoring 34 goals and providing 25 assists.

The 32 schools with former Total Futbol players on the roster racked up a total of 308 wins, 228 losses and 67 ties. Twenty teams (66%) had winning seasons, while nine teams (28%) posted more losses than wins in 2017. Top finishes in regular season and conference play included: Christopher Newport (DIII Capital Athletic Conference regular season Champs; tournament Champs), Duke (DI Atlantic Coast Conference regular season champs; tournament finalists), Navy (DI Patriot League regular season Champs; tournament Finalists), Penn State (DI Big 10 tournament Champs), and South Florida (DI American Athletic Conference regular season Finalists; tournament Champs).

You can see all of our current and former Total Futbol players who have made the leap to the college game (or have actively committed to do so) by clicking HERE
 

Three Total Futbol alums said farewell to college soccer in 2017, completing solid careers for their respective schools. From left to right: Jenna Hamilton (George Mason University), Hanna Hannesdottir (Pittsburgh), and Kasey Martino (Randolph-Macon). 

Seniors Play in Their Final College Games

In her four years as a midfielder for the George Mason University Patriots, senior Jenna Hamilton played in a total of 62 games and scored six goals. She also excelled in the classroom, making the Spring 2017 Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll.

Senior Hanna Hannesdottir pulled on her #14 jersey for the Pittsburgh Panthers in 70 games over the course of her collegiate soccer career. She started in 45 of those matches and tallied a total of four goals and four assists.

As a Randolph-Macon Yellowjacket, senior Kasey Martino scored eight goals and notched four assists—all while starting 43 of her 69 college games. In a fitting farewell to the college game, two of Kasey’s four goals in her final season were game winners.

Juniors and Sophomores Continue Making Their Mark

The largest percentage of current active TF alumni in college were juniors in 2017 (21/38, or 55%). Although there were some injuries, several players had standout years and we will highlight a few of those performances here:

Virginia Tech’s stalwart defender, Alia Abu Hawa, started every game in 2017—one of only six Hokies to do so. Although VT posted an overall W-D-L record of 7-6-5, their non-conference performance was stellar at 6-1-1—including a 2-1 victory over perennially top-ranked Notre Dame on Oct. 15, 2017. Fellow Hokie junior and striker Kristina Diana also saw action in 2017, starting 11 of the 15 games she played in and notching one assist.

Amherst junior Rubii Tamen ripped up the pitch in 2017, scoring a whopping eight goals, and adding four assists. She started 15 of 17 games for the Mammoths. On Oct. 1, 2017, she netted four consecutive goals against New England College, including three in a six-minute span. She was showered in post-season honors, including being named to the All-NESCAC First Team and the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III All-New England Region Third Team.

From left to right: Juniors Kristina Diana (Virginia Tech), Maura Aman (University of Central Florida), and Jenny Riemer (Elon).

Junior midfielder Becca Callison started 18 of 20 games for the George Mason Patriots in 2017, scoring four goals and adding two assists. To top that off, she also made the Spring 2017 Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll.

Maura Aman, a junior defender at the University of Central Florida, was rock solid along the back line for the Knights in 2017, helping the team post a spectacular 13-2-3 record. She played 17 complete games for a team-leading 1691 minutes. UCF notched its first-ever victory against North Carolina in 2017, with a 2-1 win on Aug. 25.

Florida Gator Sara Wilson took the field for 15 games in 2017, starting five of those contests. She played for 47 minutes in Florida’s shock 3-2 win over eventual NCAA National College Cup Champions Stanford on Aug. 25.

Junior Amber Stearns transferred from Boston College to the University of Texas in 2017 and contributed to the Longhorns’ impressive 14-4-3 overall record. She picked up her first Texas goal and match-winner on a strong header from nine yards out on Aug. 20 in a 2-0 shutout of Western Kentucky.
 
From left to right: Sophomore Mia Gyau (Duke) was injured early in the 2017 season after starting every game, Junior Samie Scaffidi (St. John's University), Junior Stephanie Stahl (Virginia Commonwealth), and Karina Castillo (Mercer).
 
Junior Stephanie Stahl played in a career-high 18 games for Virginia Commonwealth University in 2017, starting six of them. She scored one goal and assisted with two others, helping the Rams advance as far as the Atlantic-10 Conference Championship on Nov. 5.

Junior Samie Scaffidi started three of ten games in 2017 for St. John’s University (aka ‘the Red Storm’), posting one goal and one assist and junior Karina Castillo played in 17 games for the Mercer Bears in 2017, scoring one goal.

Texas Southern junior striker Alisa Holloway continued her amazing momentum on the college pitch in 2017, starting 17 of 18 games and scoring three goals and two assists.

Sophomore Mia Gyau earned starts in Duke's first three contests of 2017 before suffering a season-ending ACL and MCL tear on Aug. 25. She played a season-high 77 minutes in the season opener against North Carolina on Aug. 18 and recorded two shots with one on goal against Xavier on Aug. 20.

Fabulous Freshmen

Freshman forward Maddie Cochran scored five goals for the Christopher Newport Captains in 2017 in a dream debut on the college pitch. Playing in 17 games, Maddie averaged 1.59 shots per game. CNU posted a 19-1-1 record for the year, winning both the regular season and tournament titles in the Division III Capital Athletic Conference and advancing to the second round of the NCAA postseason tournament.

Midfielder Kara Kimberl marked her first season as an Elon University Phoenix by starting in 16 of 19 games and racking up 1414 minutes of playing time. And rookie Longwood Lancer Camryn Conklin saw action in a total of 7 games in 2017.

From left to right: Freshmen Maddie Cochran (Christopher Newport), Camryn Conklin (Longwood) and Kara Kimberl (Elon).

Two Total Futbol alums took the field for Frostburg State University in 2017: Midfielder Helen Francis played in 16 games (starting five) and provided two assists while goalkeeper Jenny Bullers had a smashing debut between the posts, starting nine of the ten games she played in and making 36 saves.

Freshman Emily Keast played in 20 games for the U.S. Naval Academy in 2017, starting three of those matches and adding one goal and two assists to the team’s white-hot performance in 2017. Navy won the Patriot League’s regular season, going undefeated at 8-0-1, and lost in a 3-2 nail biter against Bucknell in the division’s Championship Final.

Jordan Fitzgerald played in 12 games off the bench as a freshman for Emory University in 2017, recording three shots and two shots on goal. Molly Cripe saw action in 13 games for the York College Spartans, starting two of them and making a total of four shots.

And Rebecca Crouch finished her first season as a South Florida Bull with eight games under her belt. The Bulls had a banner season in 2017, capturing the program's first American Athletic Conference tournament title and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2010.