All-time leading scorer Alex Cowling claimed Female Athlete of the Year while Colin Welmon and Anthony Ireland shared the Male Athlete of the Year honor.
LMU Women's Soccer vs. Rutgers - September 2, 2011
Photos by Matthew Balentine
Briefly...
Darien Pyka enters her fourth season with the Lions in 2013... can play either at the back or in midfield... very good in the air...
At LMU...
2012... Had a breakout junior campaign, leading the team with four goals, including three game-winners, and three assists for 11 points... one of seven field players to start all 19 matches... showed great efficiency, taking 16 shots, eight on frame... first goal of the season was the game-winner in a 2-0 shutout of UC Irvine (Aug. 24)... also scored the game-winner in a 2-1 victory over Houston Baptist (Aug. 26) and in a 4-2 loss to No. 11 Wisconsin (Sept. 2)...final goal was the overtime winner against San Francisco (Oct. 21), netted just 11 seconds into extra time... WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention...
2011... Earned 10 starts and appeared in 17 total matches... scored two goals and added two assist for six points... first goal of the season was in LMU's season-opening, 3-1 win over #18 Texas... also scored in a 2-1 win over Saint Mary's (Oct. 14)... assisted goals in back-to-back games on Aug. 21 (at Texas State) and Aug. 26 (Long Island)... National Scholar-Athlete...
2010... WCC Commissioner's Honor Roll... played in 13 games, all off the bench... scored one goal and had two assists for four points... took seven shots, placing two on target... first career goal was the game-winner against Tennessee-Martin (Sept. 5)... provided assists vs. Pepperdine (Oct. 9) and San Diego (Nov. 5)...
High School... Three-year letterwinner at Canyon High School in Anaheim, Calif., for Coach Walter Camargo... Third Team All-CIF selection as a senior... also was named Second Team All-County and Century League Most Valuable Player in her senior season... two-time First Team All-League, leading CHS to back-to-back league titles and the CIF playoff second round... Second Team All-Orange County... Century League Athlete of the Year and Scholar Athlete of the Year... three-sport star, winning all-league honors in both cross country and track while progressing to the CIF finals in each sport... named track team MVP in her junior and senior seasons... ran the 400m, 800m, and 1600m races while also competing in discus, shot put, and triple jump... helped cross country team in three league championships... played club soccer for Laguna Hills Eclipse... won Coast Soccer League Cup in 2008... member of Honor Roll and Principal's Roll... graduated magna cum laude... member of National Honor Society and California Scholarship Federation...
Personal... Darien Taylor Pyka was born on October 31, 1992 in Long Beach, Calif.... parents are John and Diane Pyka... has a sister, Ashley, who throws for the USC track team... also has a younger brother, Austin... last name is pronounced "PIKE-ah"... volunteered at Mercy Homeless Shelter and with Orange Ronald McDonald House... chose LMU over UC Riverside because of the campus and the small class sizes... health and human sciences major...
