The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) has recognized four Bruins women's soccer players as First Team All-Americans. Margaret Cummings and Mia Marks are now All-Americans in consecutive seasons while Celeste Baladi and Jessica Townsend are now deserving All-Americans for their first time.
Goalkeeper Margaret Cummings has cemented herself as one of the best goalkeepers in the NCCAA in her first two years of her collegiate career. This season, she held a 0.95 goals against average (GAA) and made 66 saves. She finished the season with six straight clean sheets where she didn't allow any goals which added to her 10 total clean sheets. She still has two more seasons. "She is her own worst critic and that drives her to keep getting better and better," Coach Carmichael said. "She is a great communicator and incredible teammate that gives her team confidence when they need it most. Her technical skill and ability playing goalkeeper is one of the best I have ever seen and we're blessed to have her in our program."
Jessica Townsend was a big reason Cummings was able to stay comfortable in front of the goal. Townsend led the Bruins from the centerback position all season long and made it tough for the opposing strikers to even get shots off. Her speed and vision proved to be a weapon for the Bruins. She rarely got beat in a foot race, always provided a safe drop, and would often start the Bruins efforts up the field. "Jessica has been strong her whole career since her freshman season but this year was her best year," Coach Carmichael said. "She handled some of the best strikers and is phenomenal in the one-on-one situations. Her speed was always such a weapon on defense but also in her attack as she made runs up into the midfield to start an offensive play. She will be sorely missed since centerback is one of the hardest positions to play well and she did that."
Celeste Baladi was a Swiss army knife for the Bruins this season. She played in every position and did it well. She played most of the season on the defensive line or the midfield, but later on in the season, she proved to be a force on offense. She finished the season with 13 goals and six assists scoring six of those goals in the national tournament which led to her being awarded the Golden Ball. "She played everywhere for us this season and flourished," said Coach Carmichael. "We started her next to Jessica playing centerback but due to tactical reorganization, moved her up into the midfield, and then up again next to Mia up top. Celeste was able to press the other team and take possession back. She has a technical skill that helps her be comfortable in tight situations. When we moved her to the low striker position, she immediately became a huge scoring threat and was a huge part of our success this year."
Mia Marks was a leader for the Bruins all season. She was rightfully named the All-Region Player of the Year and the National Player of the Year after dominating with 16 goals and 15 assists on the season. During the season, she became the all-time leader in assists in program history and is now second in goals. This is her third All-American honor. "Mia had her best season of her great career this season," Coach Carmichael said. "She is a fearless competitor and a phenomenal leader. Her ability to make plays from what seems like a dead attack or from weird angles is second to none. She has a 'clutch gene' where she switches it into high gear to make a play when the team most desperately needs it leading to so many game-winning goals and assists. Mia is irreplaceable, and we were blessed to have her."
These players and the Bruins had an incredible season finishing with a 17-4-1 record and another national title.
Post taken from Bob Jones Womens Soccer https://www.bjubruins.com/news/2024/12/3/womens-soccer-four-bruins-named-nccaa-all-americans.aspx
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