MacDonald named Defensive Player of the Year and eight Grizzlies earn conference honors
Following a season that saw the Butler Grizzlies win the conference and region titles and take a trip to Daytona, Florida for the national tournament, the Grizzlies represented well in the 2021 KJCCC East Division 1 Women's Soccer Awards. Six Butler players earned First Team honors and two players got second team honors. In addition, sophomore Ellie MacDonald was awarded the defensive player of the year award, and head coach Adam Hunter was honored as coach of the year.
MacDonald, along with Kim Mcalpine, Joy Ngibuini, Brooklyn Hunter, Bailey Williams and Kyrah Klumpp were honored with first team nominations.
MacDonald, the sophomore center back out of Scotland, started in all 24 games this season, anchoring the Butler defense, helping the team earn eleven clean sheets. She also contributed three assists and two goals on the year, including one game winning goal, in the 86th minute against Kansas City.
She's joined on the first team by her Scottish teammate, Kim Mcalpine. The sophomore had a breakout year, leading the league in goals with 20, good enough for sixth nationally. She led the conference in points, with 46, also sixth in the nation. She scored in 11 consecutive games, scoring hat tricks against Dodge City and Garden City. Her biggest goal came in the region final, against Cowley, opening the scoring with a header off a corner.
Ngibuini, a freshman from Topeka, played in 24 games and came off the bench for 17. She finished the season with 10 goals and six assists, finishing with 26 points. She scored the game winner in three games.
Brooklyn Hunter, a freshman from right here in El Dorado, joined her father's team and led the league in assists with 14. She finished 10th in the league in points, with 24. She scored her first goal of her college career against Hutchinson, a moment that she would later call her favorite moment of the season.[
Iyanla Bailey Williams, a sophomore defender from Puerto Rico, contributed seven goals and three assists, as she started in all 24 games this season. She scored three game winners and was successful in all four penalty kicks she took this season.
Freshman goalkeeper Kyrah Klumpp started in 17 games and gave up just 17 goals on 54 shots, for a saves percentage of .761 and a goals against average of 1.05, including a 0.90 in conference play, less than a goal per game. She won nine games and kept three shutouts, and was the winning goalkeeper in the region penalty shootout against Cowley.
In addition, midfielder Korryn Hackney and defender Madeline BOMAN were named to the second team.
Hackney, a freshman out of Rose Hill, started in 23 of the 24 games this season and finished with two goals and one assist, also earning five points.
Boman, a freshman defender from Buhler, also started in 23 games, her two goals were both game winners, and she also contributed an assist and five points.
Head coach Adam Hunter, in his 15th season at the helm of the program, was awarded coach of the year for the sixth time. He guided the Grizzlies to the conference title for the eighth time, and coached the team to their ninth appearance in the national tournament, including two seasons in a row.