After clinching their fifth consecutive Heart Regular Season Conference Championship, the Central Methodist women’s soccer program landed eight Heart All-Conference selections.

In addition, the Eagles nearly swept the superlative awards, winning five of the six plaques.

Head Coach Dan Schmidlin was named the Coach of the Year after leading the program to a 15-1-1 record and a flawless 10-0 mark in conference play. Central currently sits at No. 4 in the latest NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 poll. It marks the fourth time Schmidlin has won the award. 

The Heart Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year awards both went to senior defender Alicia Zamora. The native of Valladolid, Spain, anchored Central’s defensive backline to seven shutout wins.

In addition, Zamora scored five goals, including four in a five-game stretch from Sept. 4-Sept. 20. She was also named a Heart First Team All-Conference selection for the third straight season. 

Newcomer of the Year honors went to sophomore forward Kirstine Lykke. Lykke, a native of Haderslev, Denmark, finished the year with a team-leading 13 goals through 15 matches and 12 starts. She also dished out an assist to bring her point total to 27. 

Lykke scored five game-winners and was named the Heart Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 25. She joins Zamora as a First Team All-Conference selection. 

Freshman sensation Mariana Barreto took home Freshman of the Year honors after a remarkable season for Central. Barreto appeared in 14 matches with 12 starts for the Eagles as a forward. In those 14 matches, she scored 12 goals while dishing out a team-best five assists to total 29 points. 

The Valencia, Venezuela, native scored five game-winners and recorded hat tricks against Grand View (10/8) and Park (10/21). She was twice named Heart Offensive Player of the Week and is the third Eagle to land on the First Team. 

The duo of Nerea Munoz and Larissa Ozorio also earned First Team All-Conference honors.

Munoz, a freshman from Madrid, Spain, joined Zamora on the backline to help anchor the top defense in the conference to seven shutout victories. She appeared in 15 matches with 10 starts, scoring two goals and dishing out two assists. 

Ozorio was a crucial fixture in the midfield for the Eagles in 2023, as the freshman appeared in 14 matches with 10 starts. She dished out four assists, including two against Clarke last Friday. 

Rounding out the All-Conference selections for the Eagles were Celine Witt, Kaede Yamaguchi, and Renee Berak, who earned Third Team honors. 

Witt, a senior from Quickborn, Germany, provided a steady presence as both a midfielder and forward for the Eagles in her final season. She has appeared and started in every match for CMU, scoring five goals and recording three assists. 

Yamaguchi joined both Witt and Zamora as the only players to start every match this season. The junior served a dual role as both a midfielder and defender while also scoring one goal early in the season against Southwestern Christian. 

Berak, a graduate transfer from Overland Park, Kansas, has appeared in all 17 matches with 14 starts in the midfield. She scored twice and dished out an assist in the regular season.