Big East Women’s Soccer 2024 Awards: Georgetown and Xavier split top honors

NEW YORK – Georgetown and Xavier split six major awards as the 2024 BIG EAST Conference women’s soccer annual honors were announced Wednesday.

Georgetown senior forward Maja Lardner was selected BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year, while teammate junior goalkeeper Cara Martin was named the goalkeeper of the year.

The Hoyas, led by Dave Nolan, earned coaching staff of the year as they led the team to the regular season title. Xavier saw three players receive major laurels. Senior Sam Wiehe nabbed midfielder of the year, junior defender Natalie Bain was named defensive player of the year, and freshman forward Samantha Erbach received freshman of the year.

All-BIG EAST teams and major awards were selected by a vote of the league’s head coaches who were not allowed to vote for their own players or coaching staff.

Lardner capped the 2024 regular season tied for second in points (27), points per game (1.50) and assists (7), and third in goals (10). The 2023 All-Tournament team honoree recorded two five-point performances this season against Marquette and Lafayette. She received offensive player three times this year.

Wiehe paced the Musketeers with a team-leading 25 points on nine goals and seven assists in 19 games. The senior’s assists tally is tied for second in the conference while her 1.32 points per game is good for fourth. Wiehe’s offensive efforts helped Xavier lock up the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the BIG EAST Championship.

Bain, a two-time defensive player of the week, was part of a defensive unit that ranked in the top half of the conference throughout the season. The Musketeers posted nine shutouts across 19 games – tied for second in the BIG EAST. Xavier also recorded a 0.84 goals against average mark, the second-best in the league. Bain was a contributor on the offensive end as well scoring three goals and tallying one assist.

Martin boasts a 10-0-2 record in goal for the Hoyas. The junior led the BIG EAST in both save percentage (.905) and goals against average (0.20) during the regular season. She heads into the postseason with 19 saves and one shutout.

Erbach, the five-time freshman of the week, finished the regular season with 10 goals and four assists for 24 points. The freshman had three multi-point performance games, including a brace against Butler in October. Erbach’s team-leading 10 goals this season is tied for third with Lardner, while her total points and points per game (1.26) rank fifth in the conference.

The Hoyas tallied their third-consecutive regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Championship as they improved to 12-2-4 and 8-1-1 in conference action to earn BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year honors.  Coach Nolan is in his 21st season at Georgetown, amassing 283 wins. This season marks his 18-straight season with at least 10 wins. The Hoyas have won seven out of the last eight conference championships. Georgetown leads the league in shutouts (13) and goals allowed (7).

Lardner, Erbach, Wiehe, Bain, and Martin led the 11-member first team. The five major award winners were joined by Butler junior forward Talia Sommer, UConn junior forward Chioma Okafor, Georgetown junior forward Natalie Means, senior graduate student defender Lawon Renie and senior midfielder Eliza Turner and Villanova senior midfielder Susanna Soderman.

The second team also had 11 players on it, including Butler junior defender Amelie Darey, UConn sophomore midfielder Anaya Johnson and graduate defender Lucy Cappadona and Creighton senior midfielders Stella Downing and Azumi Manriki and redshirt senior forward Ari Mondiri. Providence sophomore midfielder Kayla Briggs, Villanova junior goalkeeper Hannah Dickinson, and Xavier trio of juniors Regan Dancer (midfielder), Emma Flick (midfielder) and Maria Galley (goalkeeper) also earned second team recognition.

Due to a tie in voting, there are 13 players on the All-BIG EAST Third Team, including Butler sophomore defender Lucia Englund, graduate student forward Abigail Isger, graduate student defender Caitlin O’Malley, and redshirt goalkeeper Anna Pierce. UConn junior forward Abbey Jones, DePaul sophomore midfielder Lea Eisenring, junior forward Freya Jupp and graduate student midfielder Beth Smyth, Georgetown freshman midfielder Lizzie Heller, Providence junior midfielder Ella McBride, Seton Hall senior defender Chiara Pucci, St. John’s senior midfielder Jailene DeJesus, and Villanova senior defender Myla McLeod were placed on the third team.

BIG EAST Awards

• Offensive Player of the Year: Maja Lardner, Georgetown, Sr., F
• Midfielder of the Year: Sam Wiehe, Xavier, Sr., M
• Defensive Player of the Year: Natalie Bain, Xavier, Jr., D
• Goalkeeper of the Year: Cara Martin, Georgetown, Jr., GK
• Freshman of the Year: Samantha Erbach, Xavier, Fr., F
• Coaching Staff of the Year: Georgetown

All-BIG EAST First Team

• Talia Sommer, Butler, Jr., F
• Chioma Okafor, UConn, Jr., F
• Maja Lardner, Georgetown, Sr., F
• Natalie Means, Georgetown, Jr., F
• Samantha Erbach, Xavier, Fr., F
• Eliza Turner, Georgetown, Sr., M
• Susanna Soderman, Villanova, Sr., M
• Sam Wiehe, Xavier, Sr., M
• Lawson Renie, Georgetown, Gr., D
• Natalie Bain, Xavier, Jr., D
• Cara Martin, Georgetown, Jr., GK

All-BIG EAST Second Team

• Ari Mondiri, Creighton, R-Sr., F
• Kayla Briggs, Providence, So., M/F
• Anaya Johnson, UConn, So., M
• Stella Downing, Creighton, Sr., M
• Azumi Manriki, Creighton, Sr., M
• Emma Flick, Xavier, Jr., M
• Regan Dancer, Xavier, Jr., M
• Amelie Darey, Butler, Jr., D
• Lucy Cappadona, UConn, Gr., D
• Hannah Dickinson, Villanova Jr., GK
• Maria Galley, Xavier, Jr., GK

All-BIG EAST Third Team *

• Abigail Isger, Butler, Gr., F
• Freya Jupp, DePaul, Jr., F
• Abbey Jones, UConn, Sr., F/M
• Lea Eisenring, DePaul, So., M
• Beth Smyth, DePaul, Gr., M
• Lizzie Heller, Georgetown, Fr., M
• Jailene DeJesus, St. John’s, Sr., M
• Ella McBride, Providence, Jr., M/D
• Caitlin O’Malley, Butler, Gr., D
• Lucia Englund, Butler, So., D
• Chiara Pucci, Seton Hall, Sr., D
• Myla McLeod, Villanova, Sr., D
• Anna Pierce, Butler, R-Jr., GK

* Due to a tie, there are 13 players on the third team.