Photo by: Maria Lysaker
Roelfsema Named First Team All-American
5/13/2021 2:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Elite Postseason Honor For Owl Defender
KANSAS City, Mo. – Rice's Mijke Roelfsema has been named a First Team All-America honoree by United Soccer Coaches, the organization announced Thursday (May 13).
Roelfsema, a senior defender who was recently named a national semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy as the Women's Player of the Year, is the first Rice player since the start of the varsity soccer program in 2001 to earn First Team All-America recognition. In 2017 Owl great Samantha Chaiken was named to the All-America Third Team.
An international standout from The Netherlands, Roelfsema was named the Defensive MVP of the Conference USA Tournament after earning the league's Defensive Player of the Year honors for the regular season. She anchored a young Owl backline by starting all 18 games, extending her streak of 37-straight starts dating back to her first year with the program in the fall of 2019 (when she transferred to Rice from Boston College). Roelfsema rarely stepped off the field, playing 1,614 of the team's 1,657 minutes (97.4 percent of the team's total playing time).
Where Roelfsema and the Rice defense yielded an austere 12.4 shots per game and piled up 11 shutouts for the team this season, opponents had to be mindful she also provided an attacking presence that included three goals and a pair of assists. One of her goals tied the game in the second half against nationally-ranked Texas A&M (which the Owls went on to win overtime). She finished the year with 11 shots and a .455 shots-on-goal percentage.
Roelfsema, a senior defender who was recently named a national semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy as the Women's Player of the Year, is the first Rice player since the start of the varsity soccer program in 2001 to earn First Team All-America recognition. In 2017 Owl great Samantha Chaiken was named to the All-America Third Team.
An international standout from The Netherlands, Roelfsema was named the Defensive MVP of the Conference USA Tournament after earning the league's Defensive Player of the Year honors for the regular season. She anchored a young Owl backline by starting all 18 games, extending her streak of 37-straight starts dating back to her first year with the program in the fall of 2019 (when she transferred to Rice from Boston College). Roelfsema rarely stepped off the field, playing 1,614 of the team's 1,657 minutes (97.4 percent of the team's total playing time).
Where Roelfsema and the Rice defense yielded an austere 12.4 shots per game and piled up 11 shutouts for the team this season, opponents had to be mindful she also provided an attacking presence that included three goals and a pair of assists. One of her goals tied the game in the second half against nationally-ranked Texas A&M (which the Owls went on to win overtime). She finished the year with 11 shots and a .455 shots-on-goal percentage.
Roelfsema trained daily under the direction of Rice head coach Brian Lee. Lee stated that he, the Owls coaching staff and players, have long been impressed with Roelfsema on and off the field.
"We are all so excited for Mijke to earn this prestigious honor," Coach Lee said. "She arrived on South Main as a very good player, but her substantial growth has mirrored that of the program and her teammates over the past 18 months. The best is yet to come for her and for Rice soccer."
Players Mentioned
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