The South Atlantic Conference Announces Women's Soccer Award Winners and All-Conference Selections
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Lenoir-Rhyne forward Evan O'Leary was voted the 2024 South Atlantic Conference Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Year, while Wingate's Laura Holt earned SAC Defensive Player of the Year honors. Coker's Maia Clark was named the league's Freshman of the Year and Wingate's Katie Mitchell was selected as the conference's Coach of the Year.
O'Leary, a senior from Walnut Cove, N.C., led the SAC with 11 assists, a mark which places her fifth in Lenoir-Rhyne history for a single season and is the third-most in NCAA Division II this season. O'Leary added six goals to give her 23 points and has been a model of consistency this season. She has recorded at least one point in 15 of her 17 matches and has scored a goal in three of her last five.
Holt, a junior from Brande, Denmark, led Wingate to the first outright SAC Regular Season Title in program history. Holt led a back line that allowed opponents to score just 16 times in 17 matches. Thanks in large part to Holt, Wingate has won five straight matches and has only allowed two goals in that stretch. For the year, Wingate has recorded seven clean sheets. Offensively, she added a goal and an assist to go with seven shots.
Clark was a standout during her freshman campaign with the Cobras, leading the league with 14 goals and 31 points. She netted a hat trick against Tusculum on Oct. 26, a stretch where she scored at least one goal in five straight matches. She added a brace in a win over USC Aiken and led Coker to a 5-5-1 record in league play and 9-6-2 overall mark.
In her first season at the helm, Mitchell led the Bulldogs to their aforementioned first outright regular season conference title. After giving up seven goals over the first four matches of the season, Mitchell's squad allowed just nine goals in the final 13 games. The Bulldogs finished second in the league in goals scored and third in goals allowed.
Joining O'Leary, Clark and Holt on the First Team All-SAC were forwards Bree Ehmer of Catawba and Helga Halldorsdottir.
The first team midfielders were Manu Baptista Filipe and Katie Ensalaco from Wingate, Maria Rayburn from Catawba and Ava Hartman from Lenoir-Rhyne.
On defense, Alexah Fite and Kelly Havens represented Catawba on the first team and were joined by Sascha Larsen from Wingate.
Lenoir-Rhyne's Riley Miller was named First Team goalkeeper.
2024 South Atlantic Conference Women's Soccer All-Conference
First Team
F – Evan O'Leary, Lenoir-Rhyne
F – Bree Ehmer, Catawba
F – Maia Clark, Coker
F – Audur Helga Halldorsdottir, Wingate
MF – Manu Baptista Filipe, Wingate
MF – Maria Rayburn, Catawba
MF – Katie Ensalaco, Wingate
MF – Ava Hartman, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Laura Holt, Wingate
D – Alexah Fite, Catawba
D – Kelly Havens, Catawba
D – Sascha Larsen, Wingate
GK – Riley Miller, Lenoir-Rhyne
Second Team
F – Lucia Hidalgo, Limestone
F – Kira Boelke, Coker
F – Addison Rishling, Tusculum
F – Ansley Douty, Anderson (S.C.)
MF – Lucie Bertrand, Limestone
MF – Kylie Morin, Catawba
MF – Carola Busquets, Lenoir-Rhyne
MF – Ryan Branson, Lincoln Memorial
D – Lillie Rusher, Catawba
D – Noor Njeim, Coker
D – Viktoria Filsner, Lincoln Memorial
D – Vivien Peralta, Lenoir-Rhyne
GK – Haley Faucette, Wingate
Third Team
F – Charlotte Stavis, Emory & Henry
F – Katie Durham, Wingate
F – Alicia Bevins, Lincoln Memorial
F – Catherine Nardella, Anderson (S.C.)
MF – Mila Rausch, Coker
MF – Morgan Delair, Catawba
MF – Sophia Husted, Wingate
MF – Emerson Talley, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Donna Van Der Zalm, Lincoln Memorial
D – Lilly Soltz, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Rosa Gonzalez, Lenoir-Rhyne
D – Anna Schuller, Lenoir-Rhyne
GK – Bente Latenstein, Lincoln Memorial
Offensive Player of the Year
Evan O'Leary, Lenoir-Rhyne
Defensive Player of the Year
Laura Holt, Wingate
Freshman of the Year
Maia Clark, Coker
Coach of the Year
Katie Mitchell, Wingate
Fair Play Award
Newberry
STATISTICAL CHAMPIONS:
Goals per Match: Maia Clark, Coker | 0.82
Points per Match: Maia Clark, Coker | 1.82
Assists per Match: Evan O'Leary, Lenoir-Rhyne | 0.65
Goals Against Average: Ashley Hughes, Catawba | .758
Save Percentage: Rhyan Parkin, Coker | .872
Shutouts: Ashley Hughes, Catawba | 8
Team Points per Match: Catawba | 7.47
Team Goals: Catawba | 47
Team Assists per Match: Catawba | 1.94
Team Shutouts: Catawba | 8
Team Goals Against Average: Catawba | .762
Team Winning Percentage: Lenoir-Rhyne / Wingate | .794
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