Hall of Fame
Chelsea Small’s career with Idaho soccer is filled with numerous firsts. The first Freshman of the Year. The first Player of the Year. The first four-time all-conference player. The first NSCAA all-region selection. The first to score 30 career goals.
And now, the first Vandal Athletics Hall of Famer.
Her career began with a bang. Small netted eight goals as a freshman, earning Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and her first of four All-WAC First Team selections. The ground work was set, and something special was brewing in Moscow.
Small’s 2010 campaign was the stuff of legends. She scored 13 goals in 21 matches, earning WAC Offensive Player of the Year honors and NSCAA All-West Region Second Team recognition. Of her 13 goals, eight were game-winners, as Idaho won 14 games, the most in team history.
The dominance continued for Small, earning All-WAC First Team and All-West Third Team Region in each of her final two seasons.
Small is in a league of her own in the Idaho record books. She scored 39 goals in her career, 15 more than any other Vandal. Small was three times named to NSCAA All-Region teams. In the history of the program, only two other Vandals have done so once. She earned All-WAC First Team recognition in each of her four seasons. No other Vandal has more than two.
And the results came, too. During her time in Moscow, the Vandals won more games than any other four-year stretch in program history. Small was key in those victories, scoring 16 game-winning goals in her career. Off the field Small made the most of her time in Moscow, too. A two-time Academic All-American, Small is one of five Vandals in school history, across all sports, to be recognized twice.
