NEWWILMINGTON — Given her choice, Mallory Bugel would choose defense.

Westminster College women's soccer coach Girish Thakar chose otherwise, moving the Mars graduate from sweeper to forward before her sophomore year.

"She was first-team all-conference as a sweeper her freshman season,"Thakar said. "Last year, our team needed offense, and she was the one to move."

And the move hasn't turned out so badly.

Bugel was named Presidents' Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Player of the Year for the second consecutive season, recording 11 goals, 15 assists and 37 points to lead the league in scoring.

She needs one more assist to tie the Titans' single-season record. Westminster hosts Frostburg State (Md.) in a Division IIIregion playoff game today.

Bugel produced 21 goals and 50 points in winning the league scoring title and player of the year honors as a sophomore last year.

"I never expected any of that,"she said. "I figured on playing sweeper for four years here. I thought my scoring days were behind me."

As a sweeper, Bugel recorded only one goal and four assists as a freshman after tallying a school-record 96 career goals at Mars.

"I prefer playing defense,"Bugel said. "If I had my choice, I'd go back to sweeper. You can control the flow of play and see the whole field better from back there. Besides, there's less running involved.

"I was always shouting and cheering when I played sweeper. I never stopped talking when I was back there."

Now she never stops scoring. Last year, she put a lot of shots in the net. This year, she's helping teammates do the same, ranking third in all of Division IIIin assists per game.

Bugel (11 goals) and teammates Christina Adams (12) and Sarah Calderone (nine) are three of the top four scorers in the PAC.

"Last year, we didn't have anybody who could put the ball in the net,"Bugel said. "I felt like I had to take a lot of shots.

"This year, Christina and I have fed off each other all season, and Sarah has been coming on strong. When you see your teammates taking shots that are going in, instead of just taking shots, it changes how you play the game."

Thakar agreed.

"Mallory is so much more than a scorer in soccer,"he said. "She excels in all phases of the game. She wants to be recognized as a good defensive player. I wouldn't be surprised if she returns to that role next year."

He wouldn't be surprised if she captures a third player of the year award, either.

"In my nine years of coaching, no one had ever won that award even twice in a row before this,"Thakar said. "Three in a row would be a big thing."

Bugel isn't losing any sleep over such prospects. She isn't worried about the assists record or where she stands on the Titans' career goal-scoring list, either.

She's worried about winning.

"My goal was to win the PACthis year, and we did that,"Bugel said. "I wanted our team to get along better and work together more. We did that, too.

"I knew this team had the skills to win if we played as a team."

Bugel succeeds in the classroom as well. She carries a 3.7 grade-point average as a biochemistry major, is a two-time all-district academic selection and has been nominated for Division IIIAcademic all-America honors.

"This year has been a little tougher maintaining both," she said of academic work and soccer. "I've had a lot of labs to do. I had to miss a game this year because of that."

Thakar said 10 of his players reach the dean's list nearly every year.

"Mallory Bugel is a prototype student athlete at Westminster," he said. "She is a model of the type of individual we want to produce here."