Georgia Gwinnett College Sweeps 2024 CAC Women’s Soccer Awards
Georgia Gwinnett College has swept Continental Athletic Conference postseason honors for the 2024 women's soccer season, with defender Ola Orelesi being recognized as Player of the Year for the second consecutive year.
The team and special honors were selected after voting by league head coaches.
GGC's Ayano Kurosawa earned the Goalkeeper of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards, while Dr. Mike Giuliano was named the Coach of the Year.
The Grizzlies were the top seed for the 2024 CAC championship tournament, which wraps up on Wednesday, November 13, and concluded the regular season ranked No. 22 in the final NAIA Top 25 poll.
Orelesi started all 17 matches she appeared in and scored three goals and provided two assists this fall. She provided the match-winning goal in road wins against Brewton-Parker College (Georgia) and Xavier University of Louisiana. The defender also helped anchor a defensive unit that posted nine shutouts during the season.
Kurosawa benefitted from Orelesi's efforts, posting a 1.19 goals against average and making 66 saves across 17 matches. The goalkeeper was named the NAIA Defensive Player of the Week after making 11 saves in a 3-0 shutout victory at nationally ranked University of Cumberland (Tennessee).
Giuliano led the Grizzlies to a 11-6-1 record during regular season. He has a 486-211-70 mark in 36 years as a collegiate coach.
GGC will face Bellevue University (Nebraska) in the CAC championship match on Wednesday, November 13, at 7 p.m. at the Grizzly Soccer Complex in Lawrenceville, Georgia.
Here are the lists of the specialty and all-conference team awards, sorted alphabetically by position, along with the Champion of Character award winners for the six postseason qualifying teams:
2024 Continental Athletic Conference Women's Soccer All-Conference Team
Player of the Year: Ola Orelesi, Georgia Gwinnett College
Goalkeeper of the Year: Ayano Kurosawa, Georgia Gwinnett College
Newcomer of the Year: Ayano Kurosawa, Georgia Gwinnett College
Coach of the Year: Dr. Mike Giuliano, Georgia Gwinnett College
First Team
Forward – Natalie Maguire, Georgia Gwinnett College
Forward – Aurora Miglio, Georgia Gwinnett College
Forward – Bre Oettle, University of Jamestown
Forward – Anaalisa Vincent, Talladega College
Midfielder – Ketlyn Rota, Bellevue University
Midfielder – Gaby Sarkis, University of Jamestown
Midfielder – Pernilla Westergren, Georgia Gwinnett College
Midfielder – Riko Yasuzawa, Georgia Gwinnett College
Defender – Bre Harvey, Georgia Gwinnett College
Defender – Morgan McIlnay, Bellevue University
Defender – Ola Orelesi, Georgia Gwinnett College
Defender – Maju Serrano, Bellevue University
Goalkeeper – Ayano Kurosawa, Georgia Gwinnett College
Second Team
Forward – Kendra Davis, Georgia Gwinnett College
Forward – Addie Hawkins, Spartanburg Methodist College
Forward – Sami Reding, Bellevue University
Forward – Delmis Reyes Amaya, Florida National University
Midfielder – Eve Hoppe, University of Jamestown
Midfielder – Mia Hurt, Bellevue University
Midfielder – Caroline Taylor, Spartanburg Methodist College
Midfielder – Autumn Wyatt, Talladega College
Defender – Enma Amaya, Florida National University
Defender – CJ Hawkins, Spartanburg Methodist College
Defender – Britney Nolte, Bellevue University
Defender – Reba Stott, Talladega College
Goalkeeper – Alessia Ricciardi, Bellevue University
Honorable Mention
Forward – Kaylee Damsen, Spartanburg Methodist College
Forward – Kayla Dorn, Fisher College
Forward – Claribel Hernandez, Florida College
Forward – Baylee Tex, Bellevue University
Midfielder – Gabriela Bortolon Brito, Florida National University
Midfielder – Keily Lazo, Washington Adventist University
Midfielder – Sidney Mikes, University of Jamestown
Midfielder – Camila Moscoso, Spartanburg Methodist College
Midfielder – Natalie Puskar, Carolina University
Defender - Johana Martinez, Spartanburg Methodist College
Defender - Morgan Miller, Bellevue University
Defender - Anie Norwood, Carolina University
Goalkeeper – Ava Wilson, Spartanburg Methodist College
Champion of Character
Feleisha Brown, Talladega College
Caitlin Lagos, Spartanburg Methodist College
Morgan McIlnay, Bellevue University
Sidney Mikes, University of Jamestown
Kloe Totel, Carolina University
Pernilla Westergren, Georgia Gwinnett College