SAALFELDEN, Austria—Following an impressive season that saw her named the Southland Conference Player of the Year, Gracie Armstrong is not done lacing up the cleats.

Armstrong signed to play soccer overseas with the FC Pinzgau in Austria.

"Saalfelden is a very beautiful place," Armstrong said. "There was no way I could turn down an opportunity like this.

"I chose to come to Austria because this was an opportunity that was offered to myself and a few others that I know well. I thought there would be no better way to acclimate to Europe than with other people I knew."

Despite playing at Northwestern State for a single season, she made as big of an impact as anyone in program history.

A graduate transfer from Colorado State, Armstrong was the sixth Lady Demon to be named SLC Player of the Year and just the second since 2008.

She led NSU to a second-place finish in the regular season and spot in the tournament semifinals.

In her lone season at NSU, she recorded nine goals and eight assists for a total of 26 points. The eight assists led the conference and were 25th nationally. Her 16 points in conference play were tied for second in the SLC.

When moving countries, it can be a difficult transition, as Armstrong has found out.

"It is a very different lifestyle here," she said. "There is a language barrier that has been hard to overcome, but it is getting better.

"It is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am going to take the challenges head-on considering I will never be able to do something like this again."

Even though she will be several time zones away, she will still follow the program.

"There are many girls who I still talk to and I will always be rooting for them," Armstrong said. "They are a great group of girls with an incredible work ethic and I hope they get their redemption this fall and come out on top of the conference."

The 2022-23 team will be the first under new head coach Ian Brophy, who takes over after two successful seasons with Stuart Gore at the helm.