By For sophomore defender Kaitlin Fregulia, when it rains, it pours. Just weeks after being named the Big West Defensive Player of the Year, Fregulia was selected for the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women’s All-West Region Second Team.
The All-West Region Teams are comprised of the best players from seven West Coast conferences.
Fregulia is one of eight players representing the Big West Conference to receive United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Women’s All-West Region Team honors, four of which were named to the Second Team.
The defender followed a breakout freshman campaign with her best season yet at Long Beach, cementing herself as one of the best players on head coach Mauricio Ingrassia’s 49er (9-6-3) squad in the process.
“I was blown away,” Ingrassia said about the sophomore’s postseason accolades. “But I think people rightfully realized that she was having a breakout year.”.
She helped solidify the 49ers’ defense on the way to seven clean sheets on the season before her season was cut short because of a torn Achilles tendon.
The team also managed a season-best 1.11 goals against average while Fregulia was on the field.
Defenders usually have a minimal role on the offensive side of the game, but Fregulia was just as effective offensively as she was defensively; she totalled two game-winning goals on the season and also added two assists.
The Long Beach State women’s soccer program failed to live up to the high expectations of repeating as Big West Conference Champions, but individually, Fregulia never failed to display her talents whenever she stepped on the field for the 49ers.
Regarding her recovery, Fregulia said she is taking rehabilitation with patience, but promises to return with more determination.
“I don’t want to rush anything, but it makes me want to try my hardest to get to the point where I want to be and fully recovered,” Fregulia said in a previous interview.
