Women's Soccer

MIAC announces 2024 Women's Soccer Awards

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its annual women's soccer awards on Tuesday.
 
Conference coaches selected Saint Mary’s junior forward Lauryn Skoruppa as the MIAC Offensive Player of the Year, while teammate and senior defender Dakota Leonard earned MIAC Defensive Player of the Year honors. St. Catherine first-year defender Jaidyn Richter was named MIAC Rookie of the Year honors. Cardinals head coach Nick Rizzo was celebrated by his peers as the MIAC Coach of the Year.
 
Skoruppa (Jr. | Littleton, Colo. | Mountain Vista) was selected the MIAC Offensive Player of the Year after leading the conference with 17 points and a trio of game-winning goals in league play. Skoruppa ranked second among MIAC scorers with seven goals in conference games and was tied for the third-best conference assist total with three. Skoruppa is the first offensive player from SMU to receive MIAC Player of the Year honors since Kristen Kluge was selected MIAC MVP in 1991.
 
Leonard (Sr. | Lincolnshire, Ill. | Adlai E. Stevenson) earned MIAC Defensive Player of the Year honors after anchoring a stingy Cardinals defense in 2024. With Leonard at center-back, Saint Mary’s shut out seven conference opponents and allowed just four goals in eleven conference games. Leonard is the second player in program history to be named MIAC Defensive Player of the Year, joining 2021 recipient Alexis Nguyen.
 
Richter (Fy. | Portland, Ore. | Cleveland) was selected as the MIAC Rookie of the Year recipient after starting ten of 11 games at center-back for the MIAC champion Wildcats. Richter saw all but 100 minutes on the back line and played a critical role in St. Kate’s seven conference shutouts. She is the second player in program history to be named MIAC Rookie of the Year, joining 2019 recipient Amanda Elton.
 
Rizzo (fifth season) was recognized by his peers as MIAC Coach of the Year for the first time after leading the Cardinals to the program’s best conference record in three decades. Saint Mary’s went 8-1-2 in league play, holding conference foes to a league-low four goals on the year and advancing to the MIAC Playoff Championship game for the first time in program history.
 
In addition to the individual awards, 22 players were named All-Conference, and 12 received honorable mention distinction. All-Conference and individual awards were nominated by and voted on by the 12 MIAC head women's soccer coaches; any nominated player not selected as All-Conference but still receiving votes from at least three coaches was named honorable mention.
 
Eleven of the 22 All-Conference selections were also selected in 2023. St. Catherine senior goalkeeper Kate Praetz became the 20th player in recorded MIAC history to be named All-Conference four times in women's soccer. Four players - Augsburg senior forward Jayla Ponce, Carleton senior defender Piper Dean, St. Catherine graduate forward Ari Green, and St. Olaf junior midfielder Cat Duffy-Shaw - became three-time All-MIAC honorees, a feat achieved by just 64 women's soccer players ever.
 
The MIAC also announced the All-Playoff Team for women's soccer, which recognized the top eleven performers from the conference tournament as selected by playoff-participant head coaches.

| 2024 MIAC Women's Soccer Awards |