Minor, Gonzales earn All-OVC post-season honors

Two players from the Southeast Missouri State soccer team were named with Ohio Valley Conference honors on Nov. 3 after the conclusion of their season.

Senior midfielder Natasha Minor was named to the First-Team All-OVC, while freshman midfielder Esmeralda Gonzales was named to the Second-Team All-OVC and the All-Newcomer team.

Minor led the OVC with 12 goals and ranked first in points per game with 1.37 and goals per game with 0.63.

Her 12 goals rank her third among the most goals scored in a season by a Redhawk. She also ranked second in points, shots and shots per game with 26, 66 and 3.47.

For her career, Minor scored 27 goals and 69 points. She was one shy of the goals record of 28 and two shy of the points record of 71. She also broke the career shots record this season, with 187 career shots attempted.

Minor put in a lot of work to prepare for this year, but also had to rehab from an ACL injury she suffered last season.

"I worked with our trainer, Ashley, who really helped me get back to 100 percent," Minor said. "Over the summer, I worked with [the strength coach], Katie, and a bunch of the girls that decided to stay down here as well. All credit goes to them."

Minor said she feels honored to be recognized by the OVC.

"It means a lot to me personally," Minor said. "It's a great honor to be awarded. It just goes to show how hard work can pay off, and it does pay off."

Even though the personal accolades mean a lot to her, it's all about the team to Minor.

"All credit goes to my teammates," Minor said. "They were the ones that helped me get through the bad days and the good days. They were the ones that helped push me to my limit to get to where I was last year."

As her career comes to an end, Minor said she has nothing but fond memories of her time at Southeast.

"It's a life-changing experience," Minor said. "Not only did I get to play for some great coaches, but I played with some amazing teammates that will forever hold a special place in my heart. Just coming away with the sense of knowing that I will never be forgotten here is the coolest thing for me."

Gonzales has looked up to Minor as a teammate.

"Natasha has always been a role model to me," Gonzales said. "I would always try to be as good as her because I know she experienced so much and it's amazing how everything turned out. I am really sad that she's going to be leaving me because she was my right hand."

Through her freshman campaign, Gonzales scored six goals and had five assists, which tied for second most in the OVC. She finished the season with 17 points. For the season, she took 51 shots, with 27 being on goal.

The work to get to these honors started immediately when Gonzales first came to Southeast.

"When I came here, I worked my butt off and tried to get situated in the play and work with the team," Gonzales said.

Gonzales said it feels good with all the work she put in to receive these honors.

To read more, visit

SoutheastArrow.com/Sports.