Salazar Highlights KU Trio Named to All-Big 12 Soccer Teams
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Three Kansas Jayhawks were selected by the league’s coaches to the All-Big 12 teams it was released by the conference office Monday. Sophomore midfielder Liana Salazar claimed First Team All-Big 12 honors, while senior forward Caroline Kastor earned her second-straight second team distinction. Freshman Aurélie Gagnet joined her teammates on the conference lists, being named to the Big 12’s All-Newcomer Team.
Salazar, a native of Bogota, Colombia, finds herself on the Big 12’s first team for the first time in her career, having been named to the All-Newcomer team two seasons ago as a freshman. The midfielder started all but one of KU’s 19 matches this season, dishing out three assists, scoring three goals and 44 shots. Salazar’s selection marks the third-straight season a Jayhawk has been named to the first team.
Kastor is now a two-time selection to the All-Big 12 second-team after also earning a spot on the list a season ago. Kastor, a senior out of Wichita, Kan., was the team’s top goal scorer for the second-straight year and ranked sixth in the conference with her six goals in 2013. Kastor is currently the Big 12’s active leader in career goals (26) and points (66), and will leave KU as the school’s No. 2 all-time goal scorer.
Rounding out the Kansas selections was Gagnet, who became the fifth KU freshman in the last five seasons to claim a spot on the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team. The Montpellier, France native missed the Jayhawks’ first four games the season after helping her French U19 National Team to a win at the UEFA Cup, but made an immediate impact after arriving in Lawrence. She started all but two matches in the Jayhawk back line since joining the team in early September, helping Kansas to a 1.06 goals against average over its final 12 games of the season.
The announcement means Kansas has had at least one Jayhawk on the All-Big 12 teams each year since the current format began in 2000. The three Jayhawks selected also marked the third-straight season three or more KU representatives were selected to the all-conference squads. Selections for the All-Big 12 teams were voted on by the league’s coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own players.
Kansas concluded its regular season last weekend going 7-10-2 overall to earn the eighth seed at the Big 12 Soccer Championship to be held in Kansas City, Mo., this week. The Jayhawks are scheduled to take on the top-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 5:30 p.m. inside the Swope Soccer Village.
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