Nov. 30, 2012

SAN DIEGO - Three Stanford players were named to the NSCAA women’s soccer All-America team on Friday, including two to the first team.

Defenders Alina Garciamendez and Rachel Quon were named to the first team, and midfielder Mariah Nogueira received second team honors. All are four-year starters and tri-captains for the No. 1 Cardinal (21-1-1), which plays North Carolina in the NCAA College Cup semifinals tonight at approximately 8 p.m. in San Diego.

This is the first All-America selection for Garciamendez and Quon, and the second for Nogueira, a third-team All-America in 2009.

The three have provided the backbone to a Stanford team that has reached the NCAA College Cup each of their four seasons. The Cardinal is attempting to reach its fourth championship final. In their four years, the Stanford seniors have gone 94-3-4, including 52-0-1 at home and 40-0-0 in Pac-12 play.

Garciamendez (Fairview, Texas), a central defender with more than 30 caps for the Mexican national team, is making her school record 102nd start tonight. No other Stanford player in history has reached 100 starts, and Garciamendez has started every match in her collegiate career. She also has a career-best 6 goals this season, tied for the third-highest total on the team.

Quon (Lake Forest, Ill.) is an outside back who is as dangerous in her overlapping runs as she is as a man-to-man defender. Quon has 2 goals and 7 assists – the team’s third-highest assist total – and scored her biggest goal in the 79th minute to cap a late comeback in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown at UCLA in a 2-1 victory on Oct. 28.

Nogueira (Westminster, Calif.), is a holding midfielder who comes forward as a target on set pieces. She is second in the team in goals, with 7 – all but one coming off her head. Nogueira is an outstanding clutch player. Of her 20 career goals, 15 have tied the score or put Stanford ahead.