USC's Croix Bethune, Penelope Hocking Named All-Americans
LOS ANGELES – The United Soccer Coaches organization released its 2021 All-America teams this week and USC women's soccer stars Croix Bethune and Penelope Hocking earned the recognition. Bethune was named to the first team and Hocking to the third team.
Bethune's first-team honor is the seventh in program history and the fourth in the last four years. USC has had multiple All-Americans two of the last four years.
Croix Bethune – All-America first team
The superlatives for Bethune just keep coming as she has already been named a semifinalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy and the Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year, to go along with All-Pac-12 and All-Region first team honors.
Bethune's 2021 campaign is one of the greatest ever put together by a Trojan as she is one of just four players in USC history to score at least 10 goals (16) and post 10 assists (10) in a season (Tara Koleski-1995, Isabelle Harvey-1996, Kim Clark-1997). Her 16 goals are the third most ever scored in a season by a USC player and are the seventh most in the country this year, her 42 total points are the fourth best total in USC history and fourth most in the nation this season, and her 10 assists are tied for the Pac-12 lead and 25th in the NCAA.
Just finishing her second season on the pitch for USC, the All-American honor is the first of Bethune's career. She was also named to the All-Pac-12 first team in 2020 and has three years of eligibility remaining due to the Covid-19 dispensation from last season.
Penelope Hocking – All-America third team
Hocking, who became USC's all-time leading scorer this season, earns the second All-American honor of her illustrious career with her third-team selection. She was named a first-team All-American last year and in 2018 was named a Freshman All-American as well. This season she also earned her second straight Pac-12 Forward of the Year award and was named to both the All-Pac-12 and All-Region first teams.
The senior forward surpassed Isabelle Harvey's program record of 48 career goals on Oct. 7 against Colorado, breaking a mark which had stood for 21 years prior to that. Her now 54 career goals are the 12th most in Pac-12 history. This season, Hocking scored 12 goals (3rd in the Pac-12), notched six assists (9th in the Pac-12) and posted 30 total points (3rd in the Pac-12), despite missing five games to injury. She is the only USC player to ever record double-digit goal totals in four straight seasons.