TRAILBLAZER. Aubrey Mendez became the first student-athlete in program history to earn three consecutive NAIA All-America selections, including the highest All-America honor ever awarded to a women’s soccer student-athlete, a second-team selection in 2021. During her time in Siloam Springs, she led the Golden Eagles to a combined 59-10-5 record (.831), two conference regular season titles, a trio of SAC tournament crowns and four consecutive NAIA National Championships appearances.

GRITTY AND COMPOSED. Known for her speed and precision, the two-time Sooner Athletic Defensive Player of the Year would chase down an opponent from 30 yards away, and lay a tackle at exactly the right time with the right level of strength and accuracy. Never dirty, never late. Composed and collected, she would then connect the next pass out to her teammates’ feet. She became an integral part of the Golden Eagle attack, as she was able to not only gain possession, but ignite the ensuing counter-attack.

DEPENDABLE. Games. Practices. Workouts. Aubrey was always there and you always knew what you were going to get from her day in and day out – a great effort, at a high level. When Aubrey came out of games, there was a notable trend in the number of goals conceded. As proof of her dependability and necessity, Aubrey logged more minutes than any other field player her final three seasons. She was absolutely vital to the team’s success.

CLUTCH. The bigger the game, the more Aubrey rose to the occassion. As a defender, there are few benchmarks used to measure a player’s effectiveness - other than wins, losses or team shutouts. However, there is a metric that demonstrates a defender’s effectiveness, and that was on display throughout her storied career, but most notably during the 2021 season. Aubrey played against five of the nation’s top 10 goalscorers and she anchored the Golden Eagle defense that conceded zero goals to the nation’s top attackers. While a testament to the entire back line, Aubrey’s 1v1 defending ability at center back was the cornerstone to the entire defensive enterprise.