SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Oral Roberts women's soccer team had five players earn all-league honors as the Summit League released its 2024 awards Thursday morning.

Julia Thasaphong - First Team
Samantha Guzman - Second Team
Alexa Riefer - Second Team
Alani Chaple - Honorable Mention
Hannah Voskuhl - All-Newcomer Team
 
NDSU's Morgan Russmann became the first Summit League player to be named the Offensive Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in the same season. The Bison also matched a program record by earning four of the six individual awards, which are voted on by the league's nine head coaches.
 
Russmann led all players with eight goals, four game-winning goals and 19 points in Summit action, including closing out the eight-game slate with back-to-back braces. Her latest brace proved pivotal in a 2-1 come-from-behind win over St. Thomas that secured NDSU's first regular season title since 2016.

The Bettendorf, Iowa native also shared the league-lead with three assists against conference foes. She already set the NDSU single-season freshman scoring record with 11 overall goals entering postseason play.

NDSU's Payton Mulberry was tabbed as the Goalkeeper of the Year after logging all 720 minutes between the pipes for the Bison. She secured one of the top goals against averages in Summit play at 1.0/g and a personal best .758 save percentage vs. league foes.

The Littleton, Colo., native recorded two shutouts in league play to give her five total on the campaign. Mulberry also made 68 saves during the regular season, including 25 in league play.

Bison head coach Mike Regan garnered his first Summit League Coach of the Year accolade after guiding the Bison to a 6-1-1 mark and a league-best 19 points in conference play. Regan is the first NDSU coach since Mike Cook in 2015 to claim the honor. That was also the last time the Bison won the regular season title outright.

NDSU was predicted to finish seventh in the preseason poll and becomes the first program in Summit League history to earn the No. 1 seed after failing to qualify for the tournament the previous season.

Omaha's Regan Zimmers was named the Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row after anchoring the back line for the Mavericks' defense. Zimmers helped Omaha share second among league teams by only surrendering eight goals in eight Summit matches as they finished the campaign with four wins, three ties and only one loss.

The Mavericks' graduate student made an incredible team save during a 1-1 draw with NDSU in the 81^st minute as she raced back to clear the ball off the goal line to preserve a point for Omaha.
 
Denver veteran Ella Frost collected Midfielder of the Year honors after leading the Pioneers to a second-place finish in the league standings with a 5-1-2 mark and 17 points. Frost ranked second among league players with four goals and three-game winning goals in Summit play. She also added an assist and was second alone in total points with nine.

The Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., native logged her lone brace of the season against the top-seeded Bison, helping hand NDSU its only loss of Summit play. She scored the game-winner from the penalty spot in the 80^th minute.
 
NDSU defender Amaya Garrett joined Mulberry and Russmann in earning a spot on the All-Summit League First Team. Omaha also had three players earn a first-team nod as Zimmers was joined by forward Alyssa Kellar and midfielder Grace Ostergaard. Zimmers' first-team honor is her third straight, while Ostergaard's was her second in a row.
 
South Dakota State defender Kaycee Manding earned her third straight first-team nod, while midfielder Laney Murdzek collected her fifth career all-league accolade. Frost also collected first team accolades along with Denver defender Riley Baker. Oral Roberts' forward Julia Thasaphong rounded out the first team.
 
There was a quartet of midfielders on the All-League Second Team as North Dakota State's Hannah Arnold, Oral Robert's Samantha Guzman, Omaha's Meg Nemnich, and Denver's Hannah Tate were all honored for the first time.

The trio of forwards on the second team included SDSU's Katelyn Beulke, South Dakota's Ashby Johnston, and Denver's Michaela McGowan.
 
The second team defenders include Omaha's Grace Crockett, Kansas City's Sophia Limongi, and NDSU's Olivia Watson. ORU's Alexa Riefer earned the goalkeeper spot to round out the second team.

The 11 players to earn honorable mention honors included a trio of defenders in Omaha's CeCe Behrens, Oral Roberts Alani Chaple, South Dakota State's Lauren Eckerle; a quartet of midfielders in NDSU's Gabrielle Garrett, the Denver duo of Jadyn Goodrich and Vanessa Murray, and SDSU's Avery Murdzek; and a pair of forwards and goalkeepers. The two forwards were Lexi Huber of St. Thomas and Amelia Loeffler of North Dakota, while the goalkeeping duo consisted of South Dakota's Cam

Forwards; St. Thomas Lexi Huber and North Dakota's Amelia Loeffler. Rounding out the honorable mentions with the goalkeepers; South Dakota's Cambell Fischer and North Dakota's Grace Miller.

Russmann also earned a spot on the Summit League All-Newcomer Team and was joined by UND's Miller, the Denver combo of Megan Murray and Emma Thielbahr, and the Kansas City duo of Emery Ruliffson and Kinsley Smith. SDSU boasted a trio on the all-newcomer squad, which included Adrianne Agbayani, Mia Bosch, and Solala Nasu. South Dakota's Taylor Mulligan and Oral Roberts' Hannah Voskuhl rounded out that squad.

In Friday's opening quarterfinal of the 2024 Summit League Women's Soccer Championship, No. 3 South Dakota State hosts No. 6 South Dakota in Brookings at 6 p.m. CT. The second quarterfinal will be played in Omaha on Saturday, Nov 2 between No. 4 Omaha and No. 5 Oral Roberts at 5 p.m. CT.

The winner of the Mavericks-Golden Eagles' match will take on top-seeded North Dakota State at 3:30 p.m. CT on Thursday, Nov. 7 in the first of two semifinal matches on the Bison's home field. The other semifinal contest will pit No. 2 seed Denver against the winner of Jackrabbits-Coyotes' tilt at 12 p.m. CT. Sunday's title match is slated for 1 p.m. CT.
 
2024 Individual Awards (as selected by The Summit League head coaches)
Offensive Player of the Year
Morgan Russmann, North Dakota State
Midfielder of the Year
Ella Frost, Denver
Defensive Player of the Year
Regan Zimmers, Omaha
Goalkeeper of the Year
Payton Mulberry, North Dakota State
Newcomer of the Year
Morgan Russmann, North Dakota State
Coach of the Year
Mike Regan, North Dakota State
 
2024 All-Summit League Women's Soccer Teams
First Team
Riley Baker, Denver, D
Ella Frost, Denver, MF
Amaya Garrett, North Dakota State, D
Alyssa Kellar, Omaha, F
Kaycee Manding, South Dakota State, D
Payton Mulberry, North Dakota State, GK
Laney Murdzek, South Dakota State, MF
Grace Ostergaard, Omaha, MF
Morgan Russmann, North Dakota State, F
Julia Thasaphong, Oral Roberts, F
Regan Zimmers, Omaha, D

Second Team
Hannah Arnold, North Dakota State, MF
Katelyn Beulke, South Dakota State, F
Grace Crockett, Omaha, D
Samantha Guzman, Oral Roberts, MF
Ashby Johnston, South Dakota, F
Sophia Limongi, Kansas City, D
Michaela McGowan, Denver, F
Meg Nemnich, Omaha, MF
Hannah Tate, Denver, MF
Olivia Watson, North Dakota State, D
Alexa Riefer, Oral Roberts, GK
 
Honorable Mention
CeCe Behrens, Omaha, D
Alani Chaple, Oral Roberts, D
Lauren Eckerle, South Dakota State, D
Cambell Fischer, South Dakota, GK
Gabrielle Garrett, North Dakota State, MF
Jadyn Goodrich, Denver, MF
Lexi Huber, St. Thomas, F
Amelia Loeffler, North Dakota, F
Grace Miller, North Dakota, GK
Avery Murdzek, South Dakota State, MF
Vanessa Murray, Denver, MF

All-Newcomer Team
Adrianne Agbayani, South Dakota State, F
Mia Bosch, South Dakota State, MF
Grace Miller, North Dakota, GK
Taylor Mulligan, South Dakota, D
Megan Murray, Denver, F
Solala Nasu, South Dakota State, MF
Emery Ruliffson, Kansas City, MF
Morgan Russman, North Dakota State, F
Kinsley Smith, Kansas City, D
Emma Thielbahr, Denver, D
Hannah Voskuhl, Oral Roberts, D