Horizon League Announces 2022 #HLWSOC All-League Awards
INDIANAPOLIS (October 28, 2022) – Oakland fifth-year defender Sophie Wilsey was named the Horizon League Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year while Purdue Fort Wayne’s Samantha Castaneda earned Goalkeeper of the Year recognition and Wright State’s Marcella Sizer picked up Offensive Player of the Year honors. Mastodon head coach Jason Burr collected Coach of the Year honors while Detroit Mercy’s Abbey Lodato was tabbed Freshman of the Year. All-League awards were voted on by the League’s head coaches.
Wilsey anchored an Oakland back line that surrendered just five goals in #HLWSOC contests for a League-best average of 0.5 goals per contest as the Golden Grizzlies earned the No. 3 seed in the championship. Wilsey added three goals of her own in #HLWSOC play. Wilsey is Oakland’s first #HLWSOC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honoree.
Castaneda collected three Nike #HLWSOC Defensive Player of the Week honors this season as the senior goalkeeper posted four shutouts in League play with a 0.603 goals against average. The Fort Wayne native averaged 5.5 saves per #HLWSOC match with a .902 save percentage. Castaneda earns PFW its first #HLWSOC Goalkeeper of the Year award.
Sizer scored five goals for the Raiders in #HLWSOC play, averaging a League-best .625 goals per match. The senior forward tacked on two assists for a total of 12 points in her eight League matches as WSU secured the No. 4 seed in the championship. Sizer is the second Raider to earn Offensive Player of the Year honors after Aaliyah Patton in 2018.
Abbey Lodato is the first Titan since 2015 to earn Freshman of the Year honors. Lodato started all 10 League contests for Detroit Mercy in her freshman campaign, totaling five points with one goal and three assists.
Jason Burr earned his first Coach of the Year honor in the Horizon League as the Mastodons earned the No. 2 seed in the championship with a 5-1-4 League record.
Joining Wilsey, Castaneda and Sizer on the All-League First Team are selections from five institutions. Regular season champion Milwaukee had three honorees in Natalie Auble, Lainey Higgins and Haley Johnson while Oakland’s Karabo Dhlamini and Kendra Zak joined teammate Wilsey. IUPUI’s Maya Lacognato, Purdue Fort Wayne’s Gabrielle Fanning and Wright State’s Olga Massombo also earned All-League First Team honors.
The All-League Second Team is comprised of 11 individuals from seven institutions. Oakland led the League with three honorees in goalkeeper Noëmi Stadelmann and field players Sami Lopez and Alexa Sabbagh. Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne had two honorees each with Rylee Bussen and Kathryn Ramicone representing the Vikings and Lizzie Haub and Morgan Reitano representing the Mastodons. IUPUI’s Sam Slimak, Milwaukee’s Kayla Rollins, Wright State’s Lauren Borchert and Youngstown State’s Abriana Rondin also picked up All-League Second Team recognition.
Lodato headlines the All-Freshman Team with eight institutions represented among the selections. The Panthers had three selections with goalkeeper Kendall Edwards and field players Anna Champine and Senya Meurer while Wright State added two honorees in Elise Canter and Kaylee Pham. Cleveland State’s Eleanor Simkonis, Green Bay’s Zoey Pagels, IUPUI’s Emma Frey, RMU’s Malia Kearns and Youngstown State’s Taylor Berry also earned All-Freshman Team honors.
The Horizon League Women’s Soccer Championship kicks off on Sunday, Oct. 30 with two quarterfinal contests. No. 3 Oakland hosts No. 6 IUPUI while No. 4 Wright State will welcome No. 5 Youngstown State. Both matches will kick off at 1 p.m. ET.
On Thursday, Nov. 3, the championship will move to Engelmann Stadium on the campus of Milwaukee for the semifinal and championship matches. The first semifinal will see No. 1 seed Milwaukee square off against the lowest remaining seed at 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT with No. 2 seed Purdue Fort Wayne taking on the highest remaining seed at 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT. The championship is set for 2 p.m. ET/1 p.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 5.
Every match of the 2022 Horizon League Women’s Soccer Championship will be streamed live on ESPN+ and fans can also follow all the action on social media by following the hashtag #HLWSOC and @HorizonLeague.
For complete championship information visit #HLWSOC Championship Central page,
here.
2022 Horizon League Women’s Soccer Award Winners
Player of the Year: Sophie Wilsey, Oakland
Offensive Player of the Year: Marcella Sizer, Wright State
Defensive Player of the Year: Sophie Wilsey, Oakland
Goalkeeper of the Year: Samantha Castaneda, Purdue Fort Wayne
Freshman of the Year: Abbey Lodato, Detroit Mercy
Coach of the Year: Jason Burr, Purdue Fort Wayne
All-League First Team (alphabetical by school)
Maya Lacognato, IUPUI
Natalie Auble, Milwaukee
Lainey Higgins, Milwaukee
Haley Johnson, Milwaukee
Karabo Dhlamini, Oakland
Sophie Wilsey, Oakland
Kendra Zak, Oakland
Gabrielle Fanning, Purdue Fort Wayne
Olga Massombo, Wright State
Marcella Sizer, Wright State
Goalkeeper: Samantha Castaneda, Purdue Fort Wayne
All-League Second Team (alphabetical by school)
Rylee Bussen, Cleveland State
Kathryn Ramicone, Cleveland State
Sam Slimak, IUPUI
Kayla Rollins, Milwaukee
Sami Lopez, Oakland
Alexa Sabbagh, Oakland
Lizzie Haub, Purdue Fort Wayne
Morgan Reitano, Purdue Fort Wayne
Lauren Borchert, Wright State
Abriana Rondin, Youngstown State
Goalkeeper: Noëmi Stadelmann, Oakland
All-Freshman Team (alphabetical by school)
Eleanor Simkonis, Cleveland State
Abbey Lodato, Detroit Mercy
Zoey Pagels, Green Bay
Emma Frey, IUPUI
Anna Champine, Milwaukee
Senya Meurer, Milwaukee
Malia Kearns, RMU
Elise Canter, Wright State
Kaylee Pham, Wright State
Taylor Berry, Youngstown State
Goalkeeper: Kendall Edwards, Milwaukee