Argen, Mijares Highlight PSAC Women’s Soccer All-PSAC Teams
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference released its 2021 PSAC Women’s Soccer All-Conference Teams, the league announced Thursday afternoon.
All-conference and major award winners are determined by a vote of the league’s head coaches.
Starting with the PSAC East, the Athlete of the Year, and Coach of the Year both come from Kutztown. The Golden Bears’ Kayla Argen and Head Coach Erik Burstein were honored for their efforts this season.
It has been a stellar year for Kutztown starting with the play of Kayla Argen. Argen was sixth in the PSAC in total points with 24, and first in the East. She put a barrage of shots up this year ranking first in the conference averaging 4.58 per game and shots on goal at 2.53 per game. Five of her 10 goals this season were game winners.
Kutztown Head Coach Erik Burstein was selected as the Coach of the Year in the after helping his team dominate the regular season tallying a 17-1-1 overall record and a 15-1-0 conference mark. In the most recent United Soccer Coaches Poll, he’s guided the Golden Bears to a No.3 ranking in the DII women’s soccer. Kutztown was second in the conference in goals allowed with only 11 and combined for eight shutouts this season. They were tied for first in the conference in total goals with 37.
The Eastern Division’s Defensive Athlete of the Year is Natalie Holmes of Bloomsburg. She aided the Huskies to being the top defensive team in the conference. Holmes and company allowed just eight total goals this year, while they also were first in DII women’s soccer in total shutouts with 12.
This year’s Rookie of the Year in the PSAC East was Kaitlynn Haughey of West Chester. Haughey led the Golden Rams in total points with 16 on six goals and four assists. She also added 27 shots on goal for a percentage of 55.1%. Three of her goals were game winners.
Over in the PSAC West, Mercyhurst’s Emily Mijares and Maddie Elbro took home top marks for players. Mijares was honored as the Athlete of the Year and Rookie of the Year, while Elbro was picked as the Defensive Athlete of the Year.
Mijares proved to be one of the best players in DII this year. Listed as a sophomore, but in her first full year of DII competition. Her 13 total goals were tied for first in the PSAC and 15th in the country. She was also third in the league in total points with 30 adding four assists to her goal total. Her big thing was game-winning scores as more than half of her goals were game-winners (7), which ranks second in DII women’s soccer.
Elbro was outstanding between the pipes for the Lakers this season. She is second in the league in shutouts with 10, guiding the Lakers to a tie for third in the league in goals allowed with 12. She is one of the top goalies in the country in minutes played ranking ninth with 1760:00 minutes. He goals against average this season is 0.614 which is third in the PSAC and 30th in DII.
The last major award winner in the PSAC West is Coach of the Year given to head coach Colin Petersen of Gannon. Petersen led the Golden Knights to a PSAC tournament berth as the second seed in the West with a 12-2-3 overall mark and an 11-2-3 PSAC mark. Gannon was second in the conference in scoring average with 2.06 goals per game and had a 1.24+ scoring margin.
As for all-conference honorees, seven athletes are appearing on an all-conference team for multiple times in their careers. ESU’s Haley Skove and Gannon’s Taylor Lewis have been voted on the all-conference team for a fourth time this season.
A full list of honorees is below:
PSAC Women’s Soccer Eastern Division First Team All-Conference
| Position |
Name |
Cl. |
University |
Hometown / Previous |
| Defense |
Mikaela Berg |
Sr. |
West Chester |
Rising Sun, Md. / Rising Sun |
| Defense |
Bridget Curtis |
Fr. |
Kutztown |
Warrington, Pa. / Central Bucks South |
| Defense |
Lauren Downey^+ |
R-Sr. |
Millersville |
Hauppage, N.Y. / Hauppage |
| Defense |
Natalie Holmes^^ |
Gr. |
Bloomsburg |
Laurel, Md. / Archbishop Spalding |
| Forward |
Brittany Arentz |
Sr. |
Kutztown |
Mount Wolf, Pa. / Northeastern |
| Forward |
Paige Harris |
Sr. |
Bloomsburg |
Danville, Pa. / Shippensburg |
| Forward |
Savannah Rennix |
Jr. |
Millersville |
Blue Bell, Pa. / Philmont Christian Academy |
| Forward |
K.K. O’Donnell^ |
Sr. |
Shippensburg |
Limerick, Pa. / Spring-Ford |
| Midfield |
Kayla Argen |
Sr. |
Kutztown |
Cresco, Pa. / Pocono Mountain East |
| Midfield |
Helen Flynn |
Sr. |
Bloomsburg |
Allentown, Pa. / Parkland |
| Midfield |
Kaitlynn Haughey |
Fr. |
West Chester |
Philadelphia, Pa. / Penn Charter |
| Midfield |
Morgan Winchock |
Jr. |
Millersville |
Bridgewater, N.J. / Bridgewater Raritan Regional |
| Goalie |
Mauri Jackson |
Sr. |
East Stroudsburg |
Mount Royal, N.J. / Kingsway Regional |
PSAC Women’s Soccer Eastern Division Second Team All-Conference
| Position |
Name |
Cl. |
University |
Hometown / Previous |
| Defense |
Mirthe Bos |
Gr. |
East Stroudsburg |
Den Haag, Netherlands / Sebroek College (University of Leiden |
| Defense |
Taylar Luckenbill |
So. |
Mansfield |
Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin |
| Defense |
Paige Mancini |
Sr. |
Millersville |
Northumberland, Pa. / Shikellamy |
| Defense |
Dana Wentz |
So. |
Kutztown |
Lancaster, Pa. / Conestoga Valley |
| Forward |
Madison Bowman |
Sr. |
West Chester |
Cogan Station, Pa. / Williamsport |
| Forward |
Emma Elwell |
So. |
Millersville |
Gilbertsville, Pa. / Boyertown |
| Forward |
Maggie Lena |
Gr. |
West Chester |
Santa Monica, Calif. / Marquette |
| Forward |
Hunter McClellan |
Fr. |
Lock Haven |
Granville Summit, Pa. / Troy |
| Midfield |
Sara Hohn |
Jr. |
Shepherd |
Frederick, Md. / Thomas Johnson |
| Midfield |
Gabby Kane |
Sr. |
Kutztown |
Royersford, Pa. / Spring-Ford |
| Midfield |
Rebecca Margolis |
Sr. |
West Chester |
Newtown, Pa. / Council Rock North |
| Midfield |
Haley Skove^+* |
Gr. |
East Stroudsburg |
Lawrenceville, N.J. / Notre Dame |
| Goalie |
Kendra Barlow |
So. |
Shippensburg |
Painesville, Ohio / Gilmour Academy |
Eastern Division Athlete of the Year: Kayla Argen, Kutztown
Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Year: Natalie Holmes, Bloomsburg
Eastern Division Rookie of the Year: Kaitlynn Haughey, West Chester
Eastern Division Coach of the Year: Erik Burstein, Kutztown
PSAC Women’s Soccer Western Division First Team All-Conference
| Position |
Name |
Cl. |
University |
Hometown / Previous |
| Defense |
Taryn Baxter* |
Jr. |
Mercyhurst |
Spokane, Wash. / East Valley High School |
| Defense |
Nina King |
Fr. |
Slippery Rock |
Washington, Pa. / Trinity |
| Defense |
Alexis Moyer |
Sr. |
Clarion |
Apollo, Pa. / Kiski Area |
| Defense |
Cassidy Zandier |
Jr. |
IUP |
South Park, Pa. / South Park |
| Forward |
Rachel Edge* |
Sr. |
Slippery Rock |
Pine Grove, Pa. / Pine Grove |
| Forward |
Taylor Lewis**^ |
R-Sr. |
Gannon |
Erie, Pa. / Harbor Creek |
| Forward |
Emily Mijares |
So. |
Mercyhurst |
Brooklin, Ontario / Father Leo J Austin CSS |
| Forward |
Hannah Scardina |
So. |
IUP |
Indiana, Pa. / Indiana Area |
| Midfield |
Emily Esser |
Sr. |
Pitt-Johnstown |
Camp Hill, Pa. / Cedar Cliff |
| Midfield |
Jordyn Minda** |
Sr. |
Slippery Rock |
South Park, Pa. / South Park |
| Midfield |
Laurel Prokopchak |
Sr. |
Gannon |
Erie, Pa. / Harbor Creek |
| Midfield |
Amber Thomas |
Jr. |
Mercyhurst |
Bedford, Pa. / Bedford High School |
| Goalie |
Maddie Elbro |
So. |
Mercyhurst |
Kinver, United Kingdom / Kinver High School |
PSAC Women’s Soccer Western Division Second Team All-Conference
| Position |
Name |
Cl. |
University |
Hometown / Previous |
| Defense |
Emily Arnold |
Sr. |
Slippery Rock |
North Huntingdon, Pa. / Norwin |
| Defense |
Leah Bermudez |
Jr. |
Gannon |
Milton, Ontario / Jean Vanier Catholic |
| Defense |
Cameron Bujnoski |
Gr. |
Edinboro |
Erie, Pa. / McDowell |
| Defense |
Abby Lewis |
Fr. |
IUP |
Pittsburgh, Pa. / Plum |
| Forward |
Kylee Cross |
So. |
Clarion |
Erie, Pa. / McDowell |
| Forward |
Morgan Kost |
Fr. |
Pitt-Johnstown |
Pittsburgh, Pa. / Trinity Christian School |
| Forward |
Haley Neidig |
R-Fr. |
Pitt-Johnstown |
South Williamsport, Pa. / South Williamsport Area |
| Forward |
Mahogany Willis*+ |
Sr. |
IUP |
Pottstown, Pa. /Owen J. Roberts |
| Midfield |
Kayla Bevacqua |
R-Sr. |
Gannon |
Welland, Ontario / Notre Dame |
| Midfield |
Jenna Derbis |
Gr. |
Edinboro |
Pittsburgh, Pa. / North Hills |
| Midfield |
Madison Hoover |
Jr. |
Mercyhurst |
Wattsburg, Pa. / Seneca High School |
| Midfield |
Georgia Nagucki |
Sr. |
Slippery Rock |
Medina, Ohio / Archbishop Hoban |
| Goalie |
Kennedy Solymosi |
Sr. |
Gannon |
Eastlake, Ohio / Lake Catholic |
Western Division Athlete of the Year: Emily Mijares, Mercyhurst
Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Year: Maddie Elbro, Mercyhurst
Western Division Rookie of the Year: Emily Mijares, Mercyhurst
Western Division Coach of the Year: Colin Petersen, Gannon
* Indicates previous All-PSAC first team selection
^ Indicates previous All-PSAC second team selection
+ Indicates previous All-PSAC third team selection
ABOUT THE PSAC
Headquartered in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference comprised of 18 institutions in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The member institutions are Bloomsburg University, California University of Pennsylvania, Clarion University, East Stroudsburg University, Edinboro University, Gannon University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown University, Lock Haven University, Mansfield University, Mercyhurst University, Millersville University, The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Seton Hill University, Shepherd University, Shippensburg University, Slippery Rock University and West Chester University.