« Women’s Soccer 2013

Chrissy Tchoula

School
Western Kentucky
Position
Midfield
Major
Biology
G
0
A
3
PTS
3

Classroom

Tchoula is a biology major with a pre-medical focus currently sporting a 3.37 GPA. She is a two-time Sun Belt Conference Commissioner’s List and Academic Honor Roll selection and was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Second Team following her junior season in 2012. Tchoula is minoring in Theatre and plans on attending medical school after graduating in December 2014.

Character

Tchoula’s kindness, maturity and outgoing personality have made her a natural leader for the Lady Toppers since her arrival on the Hill in 2010. She possesses the unique gift of uniting a locker room through her actions on and off the field. A self-described leader by example, Tchoula is highly respected by teammates and coaches for her constant willingness to go above and beyond in whatever is requested of her. She is one of the hardest if not the hardest worker on the team and serves as a role model for her peers and younger teammates. Tchoula prides herself in being approachable and values helping others on or off the field more than scoring a goal or recording an assist. Tchoula’s hard work and perseverance can be summed up by her 2011 season in which she missed the last six games of the regular season due to a burst blood vessel in her retina. She battled back from the injury in time for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament and led the Lady Toppers to the title game with a game-winning penalty kick in the semifinals.

Community

Whether it be individually or with her teammates, Tchoula is one of the most community active athletes at Western Kentucky University. Tchoula recently participated in teaching dances at Camp Happy Days, a camp for mentally or physically challenged individuals ages 6-35. For the past two years, Tchoula has been active in United Way’s Day of Caring, which involves volunteering with local youth. During her freshman and sophomore seasons she participated in the Run For Rice, where she helped raise money and ran a 5K to support refugees in Bowling Green. She and teammate Taryn O’Shea are involved in a program in which they interact with and teach soccer to children with special needs. Individually, Tchoula volunteers once to twice a week at the Warren County Humane Society. She is extremely active in two clubs at WKU, the Coalition for Gender and Racial Equality and Hilltoppers for Choice. The Coalition for Gender and Racial Equality strives to bring diverse communities together as a forum to enlighten individuals on race, gender and class relations. Hilltoppers for Choice is an organization that focuses on women’s rights.

Competition

Tchoula has started 29 games and appeared in 56 total games during her first three seasons at WKU. She was a first-team All-Sun Belt Conference selection in 2012 after spearheading a defensive attack that allowed .85 goals per game, which included allowing six goals in 10 Sun Belt Conference matches and just 17 goals all season. Tchoula also contributed significantly on the offensive side of the ball, scoring the game-winning goal against Bowling Green State and assisting on three goals throughout the season. Tchoula has been a mainstay in the midfield throughout her career, playing in at least 18 games during each of her three seasons at WKU. For her career, she has scored 14 points off of three goals and eight assists while aiding her defense to a .823 goals allowed per game average.