Big Ten Conference announces 2024 women’s soccer awards

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference has announced the 2024 Women’s Soccer All-Big Ten Teams and individual honors, according to a vote of the conference’s 18 head coaches.

USC’s Jane Alukonis was named Coach of the Year after leading USC to its first outright Big Ten Championship as part of an undefeated conference season (10-0-1). USC’s Helena Sampaio was named Midfielder of the Year, while teammate Laurence Gladu was named Goalkeeper of the Year. Minnesota’s Khyah Harper was named Forward of the Year, UCLA’s Lilly Reale was named Defender of the Year and the Bruins’ Nicki Fraser was named Freshman of the Year.

Gladu and Sampaio are the first pair of Trojans to earn a Big Ten women’s soccer individual honor and Alukonis earns her first-ever Coach of the Year nod. Sampaio’s 12 points so far this season are tied for second for the Trojans. Sampaio tallied three goals and a team-leading six assists throughout USC’s first regular season in the Big Ten.

(+READ: USC captures Big Ten regular season title, finishing conference slate unbeaten)

Gladu was the only Trojan to play all 1,530 minutes throughout the regular season. Gladu’s nine shutouts on the year are the second most in the Big Ten and 15^th most in the NCAA.

Harper collects Minnesota’s fourth Forward of the Year honor and the first since 2018. The senior leads the country in total points (40) and points per game (2.22 average). She is second in goals per game (0.94 average) and total goals (17).

Reale and Fraser earned the first two individual Big Ten women’s soccer awards for UCLA. Reale led UCLA’s defense to 13 shutouts throughout the regular season and allowed just seven goals. Reale has also scored one goal and recorded two assists on game-winners against Santa Clara and BYU.

Fraser was honored as the Big Ten Freshman of the Year after starting in 15 matches for the Bruins. Fraser helped UCLA to a No. 2 seed in this year’s Big Ten Tournament with an 8-1-2 conference record. The freshman defender has helped UCLA to sixth nationally with 13 shutouts and a .684 shutout percentage.

Sampaio, Gladu, Harper and Reale each earned a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team, and Fraser was recognized on the Third Team and the All-Freshman Team.

The Big Ten also recognized 18 Sportsmanship Award honorees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

The complete list of 2024 Big Ten Women’s Soccer Postseason honorees can be found below.

2024 Big Ten Women’s Soccer Postseason Honors

Coach of the Year: Jane Alukonis, USC
Forward of the Year: Khyah Harper, Sr., Minnesota
Midfielder of the Year: Helena Sampaio, Sr., USC
Defender of the Year: Lilly Reale, Sr., UCLA
Goalkeeper of the Year: Laurence Gladu, Gr., USC
Freshman of the Year: Nicki Fraser, UCLA

First Team All-Big Ten

FORWARD
Khyah Harper, Sr., Minnesota
SARAH WEBER, Sr., Nebraska
KAILYN DUDUKOVICH, Sr., Ohio State
Kaitlyn MacBean, RS-Sr., Penn State
Maile Hayes, Sr., USC
Ioanna Papatheodorou, Sr., Washington

MIDFIELD
Justina Gaynor, Gr., Michigan State
Sophia Boman, Gr., Minnesota
Amanda Schlueter, So., Ohio State
Sofia Cook, Jr., UCLA
Helena Sampaio, Sr., USC

DEFENSE
Emily Mason, Sr., Rutgers
LILLY REALE, Sr., UCLA
BROOKLYN COURTNALL, Sr., USC

GOALKEEPER
Laurence Gladu, Gr., USC

Second Team All-Big Ten*

FORWARD
Sarah Foley, Jr., Illinois
Meg Hughes, Gr., Michigan State
Riley Tiernan, Sr., Rutgers
Quincy McMahon, Sr., UCLA

MIDFIELD
Maggie Johnston, Gr., Iowa
Paige Kalal, So., Minnesota
Jordan Fusco, Sr., Penn State
Maria Alagoa, Sr., USC

DEFENSE
Millie Greer, So., Iowa
Maggie Illig, Jr., Michigan State
Ava Bramblett, So., Ohio State
Mieke Schiemann, Sr., Penn State
Jayden Perry, Sr., UCLA
Kolo Suliafu, Jr., Washington
Hailey Baumann, So., Wisconsin

GOALKEEPER
Ryan Campbell, Gr., UCLA

Third Team All-Big Ten

FORWARD
Aryssa Mahrt, Gr., Wisconsin
Kayla Colbert, Sr., USC
Simone Jackson, Sr., USC

MIDFIELD
Sofia Bush, So., Iowa
Bella Najera, So., Michigan State
Val Vargas, So., UCLA
Ashley Martinez, Sr., Wisconsin

DEFENSE
Emma Phillips, Sr., Northwestern
Sydney Jones, Sr., Ohio State
Nicki Fraser, Fr., UCLA

GOALKEEPER
Kaitlyn Parks, Gr., Michigan State

All-Freshman Team

FORWARD
Berit Parten, Iowa
Jadin Bonham, Ohio State
Jordan Geis, UCLA
Faith George, USC

MIDFIELD
Kaleigh McPherson, Michigan State
Ava Greco, Ohio State
Shaela Bradley, Rutgers
Ines Derrien, USC

DEFENSE
JULIA BELLI, Michigan State
Ashley Thurk, Minnesota
Nicki Fraser, UCLA

Sportsmanship Award Honorees

Abby Lynch, Sr., Illinois
Olivia Smith, Jr., Indiana
Miah Schueller, Sr., Iowa
Hannah Schapiro, So., Maryland
Stephanie Sparkowski, Gr., Michigan
Gabby Mueller, Gr., Michigan State
Elizabeth Overberg, Sr., Minnesota
Nicola Hauk, Sr., Nebraska
Ingrid Falls, Gr., Northwestern
Sydney Jones, Sr., Ohio State
Makoto Nezu, Gr., Oregon
Devon Olive, Sr., Penn State
Abigail Roy, Sr., Purdue
Kassidy Banks, Sr., Rutgers
Quincy McMahon, Sr., UCLA
Brooklyn Courtnall, Sr., USC
Lucy Newlin, Jr., Washington
Riley Philbin, Sr., Wisconsin