Soccer Player Susanna Garcia Leads on the Pitch and in the Classroom

Susanna Garcia refers to herself as “small but strong,” which might surprise Chico State women’s soccer fans. Strong, yes. But small? That is not the word that comes to mind when thinking about the team’s biggest scoring threat.

The 2021 Second Team All-American and California Collegiate Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Year, Sanna, as she likes to be called, led all CCAA student-athletes with seven goals and 17 points. Four of her goals were match-winners, and six gave the Wildcats the lead.

In the program’s storied history, only nine players had been awarded All-America honors. And as she returns to lead the Wildcats in her fifth and final season, Sanna is the latest to accept the accolade.

The senior from Brentwood is also among the nation’s highest-achieving student-athletes academically, having earned consecutive College Sports Information Directors of America Academic All-District honors. When the exercise physiology major graduates in May, she plans to pursue a career as a personal trainer.

“Sanna is a really special player, but what has made her a special member of our program is her ability to demand, command, and lead. Her teammates respect her not just as a player but as a leader who is willing to motivate by example and vocally by asking her teammates for their best every day,” said head coach Kim Sutton. “She makes her teammates better players and better people and that will be her legacy in this program.”