Kristen Amarikwa

Classroom

Kristen Amarikwa has a cumulative GPA of 3.294 as a health science major. She recorded straight A’s in back-to-back semesters and was a Mountain West Scholar-Athlete in 2019. Amarikwa plans to use her degree to launch a career in nursing and hopes to get involved in pediatrics. She exemplifies the best of what a college student-athlete should strive to be by taking care of business both on the field and in the classroom.

Character

Amarikwa has been a leader of the SJSU women’s soccer team since she arriving on campus in 2016. She has held the role of a team captain since her sophomore year and is an important role model to her younger teammates. In her free time, Amarikwa helps run the program’s team camps. As a leader of one of the most accomplished women’s soccer squads in the Mountain West, Amarikwa’s play and leadership has demanded the attention and respect of her teammates, opponents and fans. Her younger teammates all look up to her and try to model their game after hers, not just in the way that she performs on the field, but in how she carries herself off of it. Amarikwa is known by her teammates as someone they can turn to when they need to and who goes out of her way to help others.

Community

Amarikwa has volunteered for multiple community outreaches in her time at San Jose State. She has worked with local Bay Area elementary schools on multiple occasions and has also served as the camp leader for the South Bay Soccer Club.

Competition

On the pitch, Amarikwa is one of the most tenacious defenders in the game. Since her arrival in 2016, she has helped the Spartans to the school’s first regular-season conference title (2017), their second conference tournament title (2018), and the school’s third trip to the NCAA Tournament. Last season, Amarikwa was selected as a first-team All-Mountain West Defender and was a second-team United Soccer Coaches All-Pacific Region selection.

During the 2018 season, Amarikwa served as the captain of the defense, and her backline put up some of the best numbers in school history, finishing the season with a school-record 11 shutouts, eight of which were in conference play, which is a Mountain West Conference record. Her unit conceded just five goals in conference play and entered the NCAA Tournament ranked top-25 nationally with a 0.62 goals-against average.

In 2016, her first season with the Spartans, Amarikwa immediately made an impact and was named to both the Mountain West All-Newcomer Team and the conference’s second team. At the end of her career, she will be celebrated as one of the most decorated defenders in San Jose State women’s soccer history.