Athletics History 1 of 2

E4 | Sunday, April 12, 2020 | lmtonline.com | Laredo Morning Times 50th Anniversary through athletics. You can’t change everybody, but our graduation rate is very good, and we’ve won several conference titles.” In its history, TAMIU has had two conference Players of the Year in Greg Mulamba (2008) and Emman- uel Frias (2011) – the former was also an NSCAA DII All-Midwest honoree – and two Offensive Players of the Year in Albert Escovar (2008) and Diego Manzano-Cano (2013). They also had three NAIAAll-Amer- icans from their time in the RRAC in Rudy Chacon and Jesus Sanchez in 2003 and Daniel Hermosillo in 2004. On 2019’s squad, Nadav Datner won the Lone Star’s Forward of the Year award. TAMIU men’s soccer also has the most extensive list of first-team All- Conference performers of any of the school’s programs. Its individuals have been honored 43 times and in all but one of their 19 years. Her- mosillo was the only player to win it in four seasons from 2002-05 while the school’s two-time winners in- clude Sanchez (2003-04), Mulamba (2007-08), Roy Hernandez (2008- 09), Luis Salas (2010-11), Manzano- Cano (2011-12), Adan Villavicencio (2011-12), Joan Vallejo (2011-12), Jovany Macias (2011, 2014) and Ryan Hodgson (2013, 2016). “For being a young program, it’s moving forward,” Arias said. “One of the biggest differences is we are creating culture. Kids are identify- ing with our jersey and our univer- sity. Now the kids put the uniform on and really feel like they are a part of this. It took us a while to create that culture, but I think it has to do with consistency.” WOMEN’S SOCCER The men’s soccer team wasn’t the only program to take the field on the school’s first day of history in 2002. The women’s soccer team did the same – albeit on the road – but their results that day and the rest of the season weren’t as fruitful. The group lost 6-0 at Texas Lutheran and stumbled to a 3-16 campaign which featured a pair of 9-0 defeats. The team rebounded with a 9-9- 2 season before falling to 4-15 the next year in the final year for head coach Sarah Forestier (16-40-2). Anna Girdwood (14-73-4) took the team over and guided them to their first league tournament champion- Courtesy of Andrea Arias The TAMIU men’s soccer team clinched its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2019.