Jenna-lee Baxter has become a surprising first for the Simon Fraser University women’s program.
Baxter, a senior midfielder with the Clan, became the program’s first-ever All-American this week when she was named to the 2018 Div. 2 Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Women’s Soccer All-America second team.
The surprise isn’t that Baxter was selected, after the standout Surrey product capped a remarkable career, leading the conference with 11 goals and 10 assists. It’s that in all these years no one previously has reached this mark.
The former Oregon State University soccer player, who transferred home to SFU after one NCAA Div. 1 season, proved to be a powerful engine to the squad’s climb up the charts. In three seasons at SFU, the Whitecaps FC Elite product started 47 of 49 games, scoring 15 goals and 26 assists for 56 points.
It culminated in a fantastic senior season where Baxter was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference’s player of the year, after leading the club to its second GNAC championship tournament. The Clan were eliminated in the tourney semifinals, finishing with a 10-6-1 record, its second-best record since joining the NCAA.
“I very proud of Jenna and her teammates for what they accomplished this season,” said Clan head coach Annie Hamel. “Our collective efforts enabled some individuals to shine and it is great to see Jenna recognized as our first All-America in the NCAA era. It’s a fantastic honour for her, our program and our university.”
Last week it was announced that both Baxter and junior forward Emma Pringle had been voted onto the United Soccer Coaches All-West region team, after previously being honoured with selections to the NCAA D2CCA All-West region women’s soccer first team.
Pringle ended the season tied with Baxter for the team lead in goals (11), giving her 34 during 48 career games at SFU.
