Two soccer players receive NCAA Division I All-Great Lakes Region accolades

December 6, 2010 | News, UToday
By Brian DeBenedictis



A pair of Toledo women’s soccer players earned recognition on the 2010 National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Performance Subaru NCAA Division I Women’s All-Great Lakes Region Teams.

Lynn, left, and Gaitàn

Lynn, left, and Gaitàn

Sophomore defender Natalia Gaitàn was named to the second team, while junior forward Kristen Lynn was tabbed for the third team.

The Rockets’ duo becomes the fifth and sixth players in the program’s history to be selected to the All-Great Lakes squad. Shauna Cottrell (1998), Kirsty Wilson (2006), Molly Cornwell (2007 and 2008) and Ali Leak (2009) were all third-team selections.

Gaitàn was one of five Rockets to start all 21 matches on defense in 2010. She played every minute in each of the final 17 contests, earning a spot on the MAC All-Tournament Team. The Bogota, Colombia, native also was credited with assists against Michigan (Sept. 10) and Ohio (Oct. 1). She was part of a UT defense that posted 10 shutouts and ranked second in the conference in goals allowed (17), goals against average (0.78) and blankings.

Lynn also started every match at forward this past fall and led the team with 18 points (seven goals, four assists). The 2010 first-team All-MAC selection tied for the squad lead in scores and ranked second in the league in shots (63), tied for third in match-winning goals (3), tied for seventh in points, and tied for eighth in scores. The Strongsville, Ohio, native tallied two goals vs. Youngstown State (Aug. 29) and also found the back of the net against Purdue (Aug. 20), Michigan (Sept. 10), Ohio (Oct. 1), Central Michigan (Oct. 22) and Eastern Michigan (Oct. 24). The three-year letter winner also was credited with match-winning scores vs. the Boilermakers, Chippewas and Eagles. Lynn tallied assists against Morehead State (Aug. 27), Wright State (Sept. 17), Akron (Oct. 3) and Miami (Oct. 10). She was part of a UT offense that finished fourth in the league in goals (35), assists (28), total points (98) and shots (313).

Gaitàn and Lynn helped guide Toledo to a 15-4-2 overall record, 10-1-0 in the conference. UT captured a share of its second MAC regular-season title in the last three seasons and made its sixth-consecutive post-season appearance under Head Coach Brad Evans.

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