ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced the recipients of their 2026 women’s soccer awards on Tuesday. The awards are nominated and voted on by the UMAC women’s soccer head coaches.
Marie Kendall from Northwestern was chosen as the Offensive Player of the Year. She led all players in UMAC contests with 24 goals and 12 assists for 55 points.
Claire Loria from UW-Superior earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. She helped anchor the Yellowjackets’ defense that ranked first in the league in goals allowed (3) over the 12 games. UWS also registered shutouts in nine of those contests.
Ada Meehan from Northwestern was named Rookie of the Year. Among all conference players in league games, the freshman ranked third in goals (11), tied for fourth in assists (5), and third in points (27).
Nick Piazza of UW-Superior and Tyson Zarnstorff of Martin Luther were named Co-Coaches of the Year by their peers. Piazza, in his second season with the Yellowjackets, led them to their fifth Regular Season UMAC Championship. Zarnstoff, in his fourth season directing the Knights, led them to the program’s first UMAC Tournament appearance since 2020.
Martin Luther also won the Team Sportsmanship Award, an accolade that is selected by the UMAC coaches and awarded to the team that best represents sportsmanship throughout the entire season.
Each team also had one representative earn all-sportsmanship honors.
Offensive Player of the Year: Marie Kendall, Northwestern
Defensive Player of the Year: Claire Loria, UW-Superior
Rookie of the Year: Ada Meehan, Northwestern
Coach of the Year: Nick Piazza (UW-Superior) and Tyson Zarnstorff (Martin Luther)
Sportsmanship Team: Martin Luther
First-team All-Conference
| F |
Layla Kerr |
Crown |
Jr. |
Barigadda Heights, Guam/ Homeschool |
| F |
Marie Kendall |
Northwestern |
So. |
Dakar, Senegal/Dakar Academy |
| F |
Naomi Meehan |
Northwestern |
Jr. |
Waconia, Minn./Homeschool |
| F |
Niamh Larson |
UW-Superior |
Jr. |
Brookfield, Ill./Riverside Brookfield |
| M |
Malia Totoris |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
San Diego, Calif./University City |
| M |
Ada Meehan |
Northwestern |
Fr. |
Waconia, Minn. Homeschool |
| M |
Sophia Boockmeier |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
Victoria, Minn./Holy Family Catholic |
| D |
Olivia Lyden |
Crown |
Sr. |
Forest Lake, Minn./Forest Lake |
| D |
Ella Ristow |
Martin Luther |
Jr. |
Watertown, Wis./Lakeside Lutheran |
| D |
Claire Loria |
UW-Superior |
Jr. |
Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City |
| GK |
Rachel Fuller |
Crown |
Sr. |
Becker, Minn./Becker |
Second-team All-Conference
| F |
Kiara Walker |
Bethany Lutheran |
Fr. |
Antioch, Calif./Dozier Libby Medical |
| F |
Katie Schoeneck |
Martin Luther |
Sr. |
College Station, Texas/ Luther Prep |
| F |
Victoria de Abreu |
North Central |
Fr. |
|
| M |
Roxy Rehberg |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
Temecula, Calif./Temecula Valley |
| M |
Allison Olson |
Martin Luther |
Fr. |
Appleton, Wis./Luther Prep |
| M |
Sonja Root |
UW-Superior |
Jr. |
Ashland, Wis./Ashland |
| D |
Caitlin Lau |
Minnesota Morris |
So |
Kaneohe, Hawaii/James B Castle |
| D |
Ramiyah Words |
North Central |
Sr. |
Milwaukee, Wis./Oak Creek High School |
| D |
Isabelle Stevens |
Northwestern |
Fr. |
Junction City, Wis./Stevens Point |
| D |
Mercedes Domjahn |
UW-Superior |
Sr. |
New Germany, Minn./Watertown-Mayer |
| GK |
Baylee Nygard |
UW-Superior |
Jr. |
Saint Peter, Minn. Saint Peter |
Honorable Mention All-Conference
| F |
Reese Moorad |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
Columbus, Wis./Columbus |
| F |
Anna Kramer |
Martin Luther |
So. |
Gibbon, Minn./Minnesota Valley Lutheran |
| F |
Brook Judnick |
UW-Superior |
Jr. |
Hermantown, Minn./Hermantown |
| M |
Kia LeKander |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
Tea, S.D./Tea Area |
| M |
Riley Ping |
Bethany Lutheran |
Sr. |
Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park |
| M |
Evangeline Vogel |
Martin Luther |
Fr. |
Caledonia, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran |
| M |
Joselyn Eckhart |
North Central |
Jr. |
New London, Wis./New London HS |
| M |
Britta Holter |
Northwestern |
So. |
Hudson, Wis./Hudson |
| M |
Julia Taylor |
UW-Superior |
Sr. |
Richfield, Minn./Richfield |
| D |
Paige Winkelmann |
Bethany Lutheran |
So. |
Saint Peter, Minn./Saint Peter |
| D |
Sophia Beck |
Crown |
So. |
Rogers, Minn./West Lutheran |
| D |
Ava Walz |
Martin Luther |
So. |
Jackson, Wis./Kettle Morraine Lutheran |
| D |
Tessa Humphreys |
Minnesota Morris |
Fr. |
Spokane, Wash./Lewis and Clark |
| D |
Madysen Johnson |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Queen Creek, Ariz./Casteel |
| D |
Taylor DeCook |
UW-Superior |
Sr. |
Arlington Heights, Ill. Prospect |
| GK |
CJ Frear-Boerner |
Minnesota Morris |
Sr. |
Owatonna, Minn. Owatonna |
| GK |
Samantha Hansen |
Northwestern |
Sr. |
Cottage Grove, Minn./New Life Academy |
All-Sportsmanship
| Bethany Lutheran |
Marin Scherber |
| Crown |
Sophia Beck |
| Martin Luther |
Ava Beilman |
| Minnesota Morris |
Jhazlyn Wynne |
| North Central |
Chloe Bjorlin |
| Northwestern |
Naomi Meehan |
| UW-Superior |
Emma Wright |