Wrapping up another wonderful season and her final year, Culver-Stockton Senior Goalkeeper Mackenzie Frizzell went back to back, tying her own school record from 2023 and Mackenzie Little’s record from 2014 for single season shutouts. 8 shutouts throughout the year in both 2023 and 2024 for Frizzell.
The goalkeeper from Maple Ridge, British Columbia played 55 games during her 4 four years here at Culver-Stockton College. Mackenzie is also an outstanding student athlete as this year she received the NAIA Daktronics Scholar Award.
“I’m really proud of our team. We had such high hopes and expectations of our group this year with the incoming freshman and returning players. I think because we had such high expectations we got so bought in. We had our slump but it almost was necessary to our growth. We all knew there needed to be a change and we all invested. So I’m super happy with this year and how we finished. Our senior class’s goal was to finish our college career how we started and that’s exactly what happened. I think a lot of individual growth happened this year which is really important for the future of the program,” said Frizzell.
Frizzell felt consistent play allowed her to challenge school records in 2024. But even with this, she thought the team could have done even better.
“I’m happy I tied it again but I do hold myself to a high standard and feel as though I could have done better individually. But at the same time I think about some of the shutouts I got against teams that many teams didn’t shut out, so I have to have the small wins within. I think our group lost focus, myself included and got too focused on other results and other things rather than just focusing on our current match. This is something I definitely could have done better; focusing on the moment.”
The senior goalkeeper will walk the stage in May and graduate with a bachelors in elementary education. Frizzell is currently in her student teaching semester and is looking forward to having her own class as a full-time second grade teacher.
“I am currently teaching 2nd grade at a local elementary school, but trying to stay fit and strong to hopefully continue playing one day if it’s semi-professional or more, or even just regular women’s league. I will always play soccer but my body has taken a real beating with a torn ACL, so I look forward to having a break.”
The standout keeper gives a lot of credit to her Head Coach Tyler Tomlinson for pushing her to her best potential.
“I would genuinely credit everything to Coach Tomlinson for pushing me to always be my best. He held me to the same high standards I held for myself. He knew my potential even when I didn’t. I also would say all my professors in the education department for giving me the comfort of being able to balance my academics and sports. They were not only super supportive in the classroom but on the field as well. As well as the admissions staff who I work for, allowing me to balance my work schedule with everything else and being super understanding when I had to prioritize something else.”
