ACC Women’s Soccer 2025 Awards: Notre Dame, Stanford stars highlight honorees

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – Notre Dame sophomore Izzy Engle and Stanford senior Elise Evans have been voted the 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively, by the conference’s head coaches.

Virginia senior Lia Godfrey was voted the ACC Midfielder of the Year, while Stanford freshman Caroline Birkel earned ACC Goalkeeper of the Year honors. Wake Forest forward Kylie Maxwell was selected the ACC Freshman of the Year and Stanford’s Paul Ratcliffe was voted the ACC Coach of the Year.

Engle becomes the first Notre Dame striker to win ACC Offensive Player of the Year and just the fifth player in conference history to earn Freshman of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year in consecutive seasons. Despite missing the regular-season finale, the Edina, Minnesota, native led the ACC in total goals with 17, four more than the next-highest total, and added six assists for a league-best 40 points. In conference play, Engle scored 11 goals and was one of only two players to record double-figure goals in ACC matches this season. She was the only player to register a hat trick in league play, scoring three times in Notre Dame’s 5-0 win at Virginia Tech on October 23. Engle found the back of the net in 12 of her 15 appearances this season, including four multi-goal performances.

(+READ: Stanford captures 2025 ACC Women’s Soccer Regular Season Championship)

Evans anchored a Stanford backline that posted seven shutouts on the season. The Redwood City, California, native started in all 17 matches this season and helped the Cardinal to a nation-best +55 goal differential. In addition to her defensive prowess, Evans was a force in set pieces, scoring five goals and handing out four assists. Her season was highlighted by leading the Cardinal to four straight clean sheets following a 2-2 draw at Clemson in the conference opener. Evans becomes the first Stanford player to be named ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

Godfrey started 16 regular-season matches and finished with a team-high 10 goals and four assists, leading Virginia to its first appearance in the Ally ACC Women’s Soccer Championship since 2022. The Fleming Island, Florida, native is the only player in the country to play in over 100 collegiate matches, entering Thursday’s semifinal matchup with 103. Godfrey scored seven goals during ACC play, headlined by a brace in a 2-0 win over Pitt on October 26. Her 10 goals mark the first double-figure goal total of her career and the first by a UVA player since Haley Hopkins in 2022. Godfrey becomes the first Cavalier since Danielle Colaprico in 2014 to be named ACC Midfielder of the Year.

Birkel started between the posts in all 17 of Stanford’s matches this season, allowing just 10 goals, the fewest allowed among ACC goalkeepers with 10 or more appearances on the season. Recording 21 saves, the St. Louis, Missouri, native was credited with 15 victories and guided the Cardinal to their first-ever ACC regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the 2025 Ally ACC Women’s Soccer Championship. Her season was highlighted by a four-save performance in a key 2-1 victory at No. 7 Florida State on October 16. Birkel is the first freshman to win ACC Goalkeeper of the Year honors since the award’s inception in 2022.

Maxwell tallied a team-high five goals and five assists in her first collegiate season, starting 17 of the team’s 18 matches. Two of her five goals were game-winners, including the deciding tally in a 2-1 victory over Virginia Tech on September 18. The Langhorne, Pennsylvania, native tallied three goals and a pair of assists in ACC play, including a three-point effort in a key 3-2 win at Duke on September 25. Maxwell becomes the first Demon Deacon to win ACC Freshman of the Year honors since Katie Stengel in 2010.

Ratcliffe guided Stanford to 15 victories on the season, tying for the second-most in the country, and the program’s first ACC regular-season title. The Cardinal completed conference play as the league’s lone unbeaten team with a 9-0-1 record, securing the No. 1 seed in the 2025 Ally ACC Women’s Soccer Championship. Stanford currently leads the nation in total goals (69), total assists (66) and goal differential (+55). The Cardinal enter the postseason on a nine-match winning streak, outscoring opponents 37-7 during that stretch. Ratcliffe becomes the first Stanford coach to earn ACC Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year honors.

The league also announced the 2025 All-ACC Teams on Wednesday, as voted on by the conference’s 17 head coaches.

The 2025 Ally ACC Women’s Soccer Championship continues Thursday, November 6, with semifinal action from First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. Second-seeded Notre Dame takes on third-seeded Duke at 5:30 p.m. ET, while top-seeded Stanford squares off with fifth-seeded Virginia at 8 p.m. ET. Both matches will air on ACC Network.

Thursday’s winners will meet in the championship match on Sunday, November 9, at noon ET on ESPNU.

2025 All-ACC Women’s Soccer Team

Offensive Player of the Year: Izzy Engle, So., F, Notre Dame
Defensive Player of the Year: Elise Evans, Sr., D, Stanford
Midfielder of the Year: Lia Godfrey, Sr., M, Virginia
Goalkeeper of the Year: Caroline Birkel, Fr., GK, Stanford
Freshman of the Year: Kylie Maxwell, F, Wake Forest
Coach of the Year: Paul Ratcliffe, Stanford

First-Team All-ACC
Mia Minestrella, Jr., F, Duke
Jordynn Dudley, Jr., F, Florida State
Olivia Thomas, Jr., F, North Carolina
Annabelle Chukwu, So., F, Notre Dame
Izzy Engle, So., F, Notre Dame
Leah Klenke Sr., D, Notre Dame
Jasmine Aikey, Sr., F, Stanford
Caroline Birkel, Fr., GK, Stanford
Elise Evans, Sr., D, Stanford
Andrea Kitahata, R-Sr., F, Stanford
Lia Godfrey Gr., M, Virginia

Second-Team All-ACC
Kat Rader, R-Jr., M, Duke
Wrianna Hudson, So., F, Florida State
Taylor Suarez, So., M, Florida State
Karsyn Cherry, Sr., D, Louisville
Amelia Swinarski, So., M, Louisville
Jade Bordeleau, Jr., F, NC State
Shae Harvey, Jr., M, Stanford
Charlotte Kohler, So., M, Stanford
Maggie Cagle, Sr., F, Virginia
Laney Rouse, Gr., D, Virginia
Victoria Safradin, Jr., GK, Virginia

Third-Team All-ACC
Juju Harris, Fr., F, Clemson
Carina Lageyre, Sr., M, Duke
Cameron Roller, Jr., D, Duke
Heather Gilchrist, Sr., D, Florida State
Mimi Van Zanten, Jr., D, Florida State
Emersen Jennings, Jr., F Louisville
Kate Faasse, Sr., F, North Carolina
Linda Ullmark, So., M, North Carolina
Grace Restovich, So., M, Notre Dame
Valentina Amaral, R-So., GK, Wake Forest
Kylie Maxwell, Fr., F, Wake Forest

All-Freshman Team
Juju Harris, F, Clemson
Daya King, D, Duke
Avery Oder, F, Duke
Hope Munson, D, North Carolina
Tessa Knapp, F, Notre Dame
Caroline Birkel, GK, Stanford
Y-Lan Nguyen, M, Stanford
Addison Halpern, F, Virginia
Liv Rademaker, D, Virginia
Allie Flanagan, F, Wake Forest
Kylie Maxwell, F, Wake Forest