SLIAC Newcomer of the Year: Mackenzie Sundhausen
ST. LOUIS — Despite being eliminated with their 3-0 loss to the Griffins of Fontbonne University in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Final on November 6, the Webster University women’s soccer team has a lot of things to be proud of when they look back at the 2021 season.
Several players stood out. Many made their mark on the team, the school, and the SLIAC. New faces made their presence known, while seasoned veterans continued to grow their collegiate athletic legends.
The season has now come to an end, and it is time to look back and reflect on everything that transpired during the season, and everything that the Gorloks Soccer squad was able to accomplish throughout the year.
A particular new face proved to be an up-and-coming soccer star for Webster. As superlative awards were handed out to various SLIAC players for the 2021 season, Gorloks’ forward and midfielder Mackenzie Sundhausen was given the SLIAC Newcomer of the Year award.
The freshman out of Rockwood Summit High School in Fenton, Missouri, had quite a standout season. She is the 11th player in Webster women’s soccer history to take home the Newcomer of the Year award, and the first to do so since 2018.
She played in 18 games this season for the Gorloks and had 13 starts. She finished the season with the second most goals of any player on the squad with nine. She also finished tied for third on the squad in assists with five, and ultimately racked up a total of 23 points, second best on the team and tied for fifth in the entire St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
To add to her already solid rookie season with the Gorloks, Sundhausen was named to the All-SLIAC First Team for women’s soccer. She joins Taryn Banfield, Jordan Lande, and Reagan Young as one of four female Gorloks players to be named to the All-SLIAC First Team.
Sundhausen certainly has had a memorable and impressive first season as a soccer player with the Gorloks. As one of the team’s leading scorers and offensive stars in just her freshman year, she has laid the groundwork for future success in her collegiate career.
To rank so high in the conference in her first year, while earning a spot on the All-SLIAC First Team is unprecedented. If she can continue to rise to the occasion and show what she’s capable of, she has an extremely bright future as a college athlete and member of the female Gorloks soccer team.
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