NORMAL, Ill. - Illinois State freshman Rachel Tejada was named to the Soccer America 2011 All-Freshman First Team, as announced by Soccer America Thursday afternoon. With the selection, Tejada became the first player in program history to earn All-America honors.
The Troy, Ill., native established a new Missouri Valley Conference single-season record for goals (21) in addition to setting new ISU single-season records for points (51) and shots on goal (47). Earlier this month, Tejada became just the second Redbird soccer player to earn first-team all-region honors when she was selected to the NSCAA All-Great Lakes Region First Team. The freshman forward was also named the Valley Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, marking only the second time in league history that a freshman earned the league's top individual honor.
Tejada finished her freshman campaign ranked third in the nation with her 21 goals, and ranked fourth nationally in goals per game (1.105), points per game (2.68) and total points. She led the Illinois State offense to single-season team records for goals (56), assists (46), points (158), points per game (8.32), goals per game (2.95), assists per game (2.42) and shots on goal per game (8.63).
Illinois State finished the season with an overall record of 13-6-0 and posted a 5-1-0 mark in Valley play on its way to winning the MVC regular-season and tournament titles. The Redbirds advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last three seasons and earned their first win over an opponent ranked in the national top ten, when they defeated then-No. 10 ranked Milwaukee, 3-1, Oct. 23 at Adelaide Street Field.
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