Louisa Ibarra: October's Zueike Female Athlete of the Month
Ibarra sends a teammate on the attack
Congratulations to Louisa Ibarra of Blazers Women's Soccer on being selected the CMU Zueike Female Athlete of the Month for October. The versatile midfielder and defender continued her relentless play for the Blazers this month, often featuring in the attack for the team as well.
After bursting onto the MCAC scene for the 2023-24 season, Ibarra was back at it this year with the Blazers, continuing her upward trend of dominant play. Often tasked with defending the opposition's top threats, Ibarra featured both as an outside midfielder, where she could collect and distribute to the team's strikers, or as a fullback, where she would shut down a competitor's advance. Though stats don't always do a player of her position justice, Ibarra also featured heavily in the Blazers attack as one of the leaders in shots on goal for the team, which hints at the quality of ball she can produce and the ability to create offensive threats. Her in-game impact was noted during the team's MCAC playoff appearance, as Ibarra was named player of the match for the Blazers in their semi-final matchup with rivals Providence Pilots.
First year head coach Jason Moist was thrilled to inherit a sophomore star of Ibarra's calibre, stating "Lou was runner up on the team in shots on goal for the season, and one of the leaders of in-up-back-through successful passing combinations and 50/50 ball wins for the month," hinting at the high level of impact her game brought to the team. "It is difficult enough to excel at one position at the university level, but Lou excelled at two, having played admirably at both the ouside midfield and at fullback. It says a lot about her overall talent and willingess to do whatever it takes to help and lead the team."
With the outdoor season now over the team looks to take a short breather before starting up training for the futsal season, with games kicking off in January. The Blazers host the second tournament weekend on February 2nd at the Loewen Athletic Centre as they continue their quest for their first MCAC futsal title since 2018!
Printed from: blazers.cmu.ca/louisa-ibarra-female-athlete-october
