MERCED, Calif. – University of California, Merced women's soccer junior Trinidad Quiroz has earned College Sports Communicators First Team Academic All-American honors, as announced by the organization Wednesday.
The computer science & engineering major with a 3.83 GPA is the first CSC First Team Academic All-American in school history. She is also the first female in school history to garner an Academic All-American accolade and just the third student athlete overall along with men's soccer's Marcos Ceballos in 2021 and men's volleyball's Brennan Taylor this past spring.
Quiroz has also earned Cal Pac Player of the Year, All-Cal Pac First Team, and Third Team All-American honors this season.
Quiroz ranked sixth in the nation with 23 goals and led the country with eleven game-winning goals in 2023. She led the NAIA with 7.37 shots per game and added five assists.
The San Jose, Calif., native started all 19 games for the Bobcats in their historic season, which included the program's first ever California Pacific Conference Tournament Championship and the NAIA National Championship Opening Round win. Quiroz played 1,596 minutes overall while playing the full 90 minutes in eight games.
Quiroz proved to be one of the best talents in the nation all year. She scored in 15 of the Bobcats 19 games and scored a goal in the first eight games to begin this season. She also found the back of the net in three consecutive postseason games with game-winning goals against University of Saint Katherine in the Cal Pac Semifinals and then again in the 76th minute against Midland University in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round. Quiroz scored the game's first goal in the Cal Pac Championship victory over 14th-ranked Embry-Riddle.
She had five multi-goal games, including a four-goal performance at Hope International University in the season opener and a hat trick against Park University Gilbert.
Quiroz's 23 goals marked a California Pacific Conference record.
Heading into her senior year, Quiroz currently ranks second in program history with 94 points and 41 goals. She is the only player with back-to-back seasons scoring 18 or more goals. She is ranked first with 16 game-winning goals and 6.42 shots per game.
