Baker Becomes GGC's First Women's All-American

Georgia Gwinnett women’s soccer player Jocelyn Baker added to her haul of awards in her final collegiate season by being named a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics All-American honorable mention selection on Thursday.

The 2013 Association of Independent Institutions Player of the Year and all-tournament team member led the Grizzlies to a 14-win season and the program’s first postseason berth.

A senior midfielder from Winder, Ga., Baker scored six goals and added a team-high six assists in scoring 18 total points. She was instrumental on the offensive and defensive ends as GGC outscored its opponents for the season, 48-15.

Baker fired 48 shots during the year, second-most on the team, with 21 on goal. She set the tone by tallying the very first goal of the Grizzlies’ season and later notched a game-winner against in-state foe Georgia Southwestern. She finished with two games of four points each, tied for the team lead.

She accomplished all of this after missing the entire 2012 season due to injury.

“Jocelyn is very deserving of being recognized as one of the best players in the country,” said Grizzlies head coach Domenic Martelli. “She works harder than anyone else on and off the field, pushing herself to perform as an All-American for our program. This award amounts to a lot more than the statistics you accumulate during the year.”

Baker becomes the first women’s player at GGC to earn All-America status. Men’s soccer player Rene Enang earned the award when the men’s selections were announced Monday evening.

The NAIA All-America committee consists of the NAIA-Women’s Soccer Coaches Association officers and seven additional coaches from around the country.