LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. (Nov. 2, 2023) – The Whittier College women's soccer team garnered plenty of recognition by The SCIAC for the 2023 postseason awards, with three different players earning recognition in different ways.
Freshman forward
Madeline Traylor (Covina, Calif. / Charter Oak) earned SCIAC Newcomer of the Year honors, as well as First-Team All-SCIAC. No matter where she was positioned on the Poets' attacking line, Traylor found ways to impact the game with her athleticism and scoring touch. She led the SCIAC in conference-only scoring with eight goals. Additionally, while she faced competition for the award by another talented rookie forward from Occidental, Traylor's passing may have given her an edge, as she assisted on a pair of goals this season to go with her eight goals.
Traylor's best game occurred at the University of Redlands, where she exploded for four goals, becoming the only SCIAC player to tally four goals in a single game this season. The freshman also had three game-winning goals, and considering all of her significant stats came against SCIAC competition, Traylor stood out as the conference's pre-eminent newcomer this year.
She also garnered First-Team All-SCIAC recognition, and should continue to be a force for Head Coach
Derek Hanks' Poets for years to come.
Traylor was not the only Whittier player – as well as the only Traylor – to earn All-SCIAC recognition. Two of her attacking mates, sister
Layla Traylor (Covina, Calif. / Charter Oak), and sophomore
Alanis Cervantes (La Habra, Calif. / La Habra) were voted to Second Team All-SCIAC by the conference's coaches. Though she did not assist on any of her sister's eight tallies, Traylor's four assists led the Poets, while Cervantes' three helpers in conference games put her among the conference's top playmakers. Traylor also had five goals of her own, and playing alongside her younger sister, continued to cause SCIAC opponents problems with her speed and aggression in the attacking zone. Cervantes proved to be a big help on the wing as well, adding a goal in the Redlands game that helped get the Poets' offense back on track down the stretch.
Perhaps best of all, all three players are set to return to the squad in 2024. The Poets will be aiming to qualify for the SCIAC Postseason Tournament for the first time since the SCIAC Championship season of 2017.
Follow and show support for your Whittier Poets on Twitter (@WCPoets), YouTube and Instagram (@PoetAthletics)!
