SSU Women’s soccer accomplished a lot of things in the 2022 season. Of course, team accomplishments are the most important, and the Seawolves achieved something special with their third consecutive as CCAA Conference Champions. But there were some individuals on the team that received extra recognition for the stellar seasons that they had. The team had seven All-CCAA players named and multiple All-West Region first team nods as well. 

Head Coach Emiria Salzmann was recognized as one of the individuals on the team, earning her third CCAA Coach of the Year nod. Impressive wins, including one over nationally ranked Western Washington, helped earn her the accolade.

What do the players think of Coach Salzmann? What makes her stand out? Sophomore Lexi Zandonella-Arasa shared her thoughts on her coach, “As a coach, I think what makes her so unique is her competitive mentality and the culture she creates within the team. She is always looking for ways to help each individual player, which allows the team to grow and continue to have successful seasons year after year.” 

Zandonella-Arasa, also known as “Zandi” among her teammates, won a couple of major honors. They included CCAA Offensive Player of the Year, an All-West Region First-Team nod, and West Region Player of the Year. The sophomore shared that she feels very blessed by the recognition, but she’s not satisfied and will continue to work to improve.

Freshman Annetee Sotelo shared what she sees in Zandonella-Arasa as a teammate, “Zandi is one of the best players I have ever seen, and I admire her every time she touches the ball. She deserves all the awards ever because she is a great motivation on the field, and she is so competitive it’s contagious. When I first met Zandi, I knew instantly that I wanted to be beside her and compete with her. She is like a bigger sister that continues to one-up me and even herself. She wants to do better than she did in the last game, and I love it. I hope to see her continue thriving and breaking more records.”

Sotello made her presence felt early and often in her first season with the Seawolves, going on to earn CCAA Freshman of the Year and All-West Region Second-Team honors. Sotello shared her feelings on winning the accolades, “I feel like I have finally made my mom and my old coach, Danny, proud. But I know that I could do better, and I can’t wait till next season so that we can win the NCAA and CCAA. I want to do better for my team because they are the best team I could ever be on.”

Zandonella-Arasa said that Sotello made her presence known early on and highlighted her ability to score goals, her aggressiveness, and her work ethic. She also noted that she is excited to see what the future holds for the freshmen after such a strong start.

Another significant accolade earned by a Seawolf player was the CCAA Defensive Player of the Year by senior Julia Pritchard. Pritchard was also named First-Team All-CCAA and All-West Region First-Team. Sotello shared what Pritchard meant to the team, “Julia was the mom of the team, and I am really going to miss her. She meant so much to everyone, even to the freshman who have only known her for one season. Any time she was in the game, she was a huge reassurance. I remember games where I was in my head, and she would turn to me and look me in the eyes and say, ‘Let’s go’. It’s such a simple phrase, but it means so much because it reminds me to hit that restart button and move on. Also, her goals were absolutely beautiful. It was crazy watching her go from the defense with an amazing tackle to then dribble the whole team to either shoot a banger or give a great assist.”