Junior forward Kristen Hamilton, who is currently leading the women’s soccer team with a total of 12 goals, is gaining recognition as a player on both a local and a national scale.
Hamilton currently leads the Western Athletic Conference in goals (12), goals per game (0.71), points (28) and points per game (1.65).
A series of awards came as a result of Hamilton’s performance both this season as a whole, and specifically in the team’s game against Portland on Sept. 23, a 3-1 win for the Pioneers and a career-first hat trick for Hamilton.
With two games remaining in the regular season, Hamilton sits seventh on the Pioneers’ all-time goals list. Since her performance against Portland, Hamilton has been named the WAC Player of the Week and the CollegeSoccer360.com National Primetime Player of the Week, and she was named to the Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week.
“It was really cool, but it was all my team; it was a huge team effort to win,” said Hamilton. “It was right after the Portland game when I scored three goals [that these awards started coming in]. I got great assists from my teammates, so I can’t really take personal credit for the win, but it feels pretty good.”
That mentality of team effort is what allows Hamilton and the Pioneers to work together and showcase each player’s individual strengths.
“I think it’s an honor that we’ve had a lot of different individual awards,” said head coach Jeff Hooker. “It just goes to show that if the team wins, people are going to get recognized. It’s great for the team, because that means the team is doing well.”
The team currently boasts a winning record of 12-1-4. Hamilton is also having success of her own, leading the team in points, goals, shots and game-winning goals. She has currently scored a career total of 35 goals.
“The good thing about the offensive players is that no one really cares who gets the goals or who gets the assist, as long as we’re winning,” said Hooker. “It’s a very positive and healthy atmosphere for everybody. Kristen’s benefited a lot from that by getting some great passes and being poised and finishing a lot of her chances.”
It reinforces Hamilton’s idea of putting the team first and crediting players for individual success. Hamilton stressed that her main focus is on winning as a team and helping everyone reach their maximum potential.
“Just coming out to every practice and everyone trying as hard as they can is making everybody better,” said Hamilton. “Also, the internal competition of the players – we have a lot of other good forwards that push me everyday, and we’re all out here pushing each other to become the best.”
Hamilton has been pushing herself with soccer since she started playing competitively at age 10. According to Hooker, she continues to push her limits today and always recognizes her team’s role in her own triumphs.
“She can’t be happy with where we are and say, ‘well, I have so many goals, and the team has so many wins,’” said Hooker. “Our goals are beyond that; our goal is to win the conference tournament and to win the conference regular season.”
Hamilton said she is putting the team’s goals first and is working towards winning the conference. As far as soccer after her final season next year, she’s not fully committed to the idea of post-collegiate soccer, but she said it’s not completely out of the question.
“I don’t know if I necessarily want to pursue it after college,” said Hamilton. “It’s something I’m still thinking about. I went to watch the national team’s game and it almost made me want to pursue it after, but we’ll have to see how that goes.”
In the meantime, she’s focusing on her academics and her newly decided major of finance. With the rest of the season to come and another to follow next year, Hamilton has more time to help her team succeed and in return gain her own recognition.
“She has great balance in her life,” said Hooker. “If she can compete at this level and get things done in the classroom, you know she’s going to go a long way. She’s got a lot of things going for her.”
