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NCAA Oct 27, 2023

All-Big Ten Women’s Soccer Teams and 2023 individual award winners honored

ROSEMONT, Ill.  – The Big Ten Conference has announced the 2023 Women’s Soccer All-Big Ten Teams and individual honors, according to a vote of the conference’s 14 head coaches.

Nebraska’s John Walker and Eleanor Dale were unanimous selections as Coach and Forward of the Year, respectively, while Michigan State’s Justina Gaynor and Bella Najera were named Midfielder and Freshman of the Year. Penn State’s Cori Dyke collected Defender of the Year honors and Indiana’s Jamie Gerstenberg was named Goalkeeper of the Year.

Dale is the first Nebraska student-athlete chosen as Forward of the Year. The Billingham, England native leads the nation with 23 goals, while her 50 total points rank second in Division I. Seven of those goals have also secured victory for the Huskers, a tally that also leads the nation.

Likewise, Gaynor also secured the Spartans’ first Midfielder of the Year accolade. The senior from Shelby Township, Mich. totaled 19 points and 11 assists, in helping Michigan State earn its second consecutive Big Ten championship and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament.

Dyke becomes the ninth Penn State student-athlete to earn the league’s top defensive player accolade and first since Kaleigh Riehl in 2018. Dyke started all 17 matches, anchoring a defensive effort that surrendered a Big Ten best just nine goals. The fifth year senior also added 10 points on four goals and two assists on the offensive side of the pitch.

Gerstenberg earns the Hoosiers’ first Goalkeeper of the Year trophy after posting a .629 goals against average in 18 contests. The junior from Birkenwerder, Germany led the Big Ten and ranked fifth in the country with 10 shutouts, including five in conference play.

Najera collects Michigan State’s second Freshman of the Year honor, joining Laura Heyboer in 2008. The St. Charles, Ill. native was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week four times in a season that saw her tie for eighth in the conference with eight goals, while her 18 points were good for 11th.

Like Dale, Walker is the first Cornhusker coach honored with the Big Ten Coach of the Year moniker. Walker earns his fourth career conference coach of the year award after leading Nebraska to a league-best 13 wins and a share of the 2023 Big Ten Women’s Soccer title.

Dale, Gaynor, Dyke and Gerstenberg also earned spots on the All-Big Ten First Team. Indiana’s Paige Webber, Michigan State’s Raegan Cox and Celia Gaynor, Nebraska’s Sarah Weber, Northwestern’s Meg Boade, Ohio State’s Emma Sears and Wisconsin’s Emma Jaskaniec joined the quartet in receiving First Team all-conference honors.

The Big Ten also recognized 14 Sportsmanship Award honorees. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

The 2023 Big Ten Tournament kicks off Sunday with four quarterfinal matches at campus sites around the conference, with each match broadcast live on BTN’s digital subscription service, B1G+ (more details are available at bigtenplus.com).

The tournament then moves to Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio, with the semifinals to be played Nov. 2 (5 and 7:30 p.m. ET) and the championship match scheduled for Nov. 5 (2 p.m. ET). All three contests from Columbus will be televised live on BTN and the FOX Sports app. The winner of the 2023 Big Ten Tournament will earn the conference’s automatic berth into this year’s NCAA Tournament.

The complete list of 2023 Big Ten Women’s Soccer Postseason honorees can also be found below.

2023 Big Ten Conference Women’s Basketball Postseason Honors
Coach of the Year: JOHN WALKER, Nebraska
Forward of the Year: ELEANOR DALE, Nebraska
Midfielder of the Year: Justina Gaynor, Michigan State
Defender of the Year: Cori Dyke, Penn State
Goalkeeper of the Year: Jamie Gerstenberg, Indiana
Freshman of the Year: Bella Najera, Michigan State
First Team All-Big Ten Second Team All-Big Ten Third Team All-Big Ten*
Forward Paige Webber, Indiana Emerson Sargeant, Michigan State Kaitlyn MacBean, Penn State
ELEANOR DALE, Nebraska Ella Hase, Northwestern Sammi Woods, Michigan
Emma Jaskaniec, Wisconsin Kaitlyn Dudukovich, Ohio State Megan Nemec, Minnesota
Sarah Weber, Nebraska
Midfield Justina Gaynor, Michigan State Riley Tiernan, Rutgers Peyton McNamara, Ohio State
Meg Boade, Northwestern Haley Peterson, Nebraska Avery Kilitta, Michigan
Emma Sears, Ohio State Eva Alonso, Penn State Bella Najera, Michigan State
Sophia Boman, Minnesota
Maddie Ishaug, Wisconsin
Defense Cori Dyke, Penn State Sydney Jones, Ohio State Emma Phillips, Northwestern
Raegan Cox, Michigan State Jordan Zade, Nebraska Kate Wiesner, Penn State
Celia Gaynor, Michigan State Emily Mason, Rutgers Hailey Baumann, Wisconsin
Samantha Cary, Iowa
Goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg, Indiana Katherine Asman, Penn State Erin McKinney, Wisconsin

 

2023 Big Ten All-Freshman Team* 2023 Big Ten Sportsmanship Honorees
Gabrielle Prych, F, MICH Zoey Kollhoff, Sr., Illinois
Megan Norkett, F, NW Olivia Albert, So., Indiana
Amanda Schlueter, F, OSU Zoë Bessert, R-Jr., Iowa
Lauren Omholt, F, Purdue Halle Johnson, Jr., Maryland
Asley Baran, F, Rutgers Stephanie Sparkowski, Sr., Michigan
Bella Najera, M, Michigan State Jordyn Wickes, Jr., Michigan State
Ava Branblett, M, Ohio State Elizabeth Overberg, Jr., Minnesota
Lilley Bosley, M, Michigan Reagan Raabe, Sr., Nebraska
Sophia Bush, M, Iowa Ingrid Falls, Sr., Northwestern
Kate Childers, M, Minnesota Nina LeFlore, R-Jr., Ohio State
Kennedy Bell, D, Maryland Kate Wiesner, Sr+, Penn State
Hailey Baumann, D, Wisconsin Kelsi Carrico, R-Jr., Purdue
Piper Coffield, D, Indiana Allison Lynch, Gr., Rutgers
OLIVIA BODMER, GK, Rutgers Dara Andringa, Sr., Wisconsin
Unanimous selections in ALL CAPS; * – additional players added due to ties in voting