The New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) announced its annual women’s soccer awards.
Conference coaches selected Tufts senior Elsi Aires as the NESCAC Player of the Year, while fellow Jumbo Lena Sugrue earned the NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year honor, and Williams first-year Maya Lloyd was named NESCAC Rookie of the Year. The league coaches selected the Tufts staff for the NESCAC Coaching Staff of the Year. The All-NESCAC teams were selected via a vote of the 11 conference head coaches.
Aires is the first player in conference history to win NESCAC Player of the Year honor in back-to-back seasons and just the second Jumbo to win the award. Aires ranks second in the league with 10 goals, four game-winners, and has contributed 24 points to the Jumbos’ offense. The senior, who has started all 18 games, was also named to the All-NESCAC First Team for the third year in a row.
Aires helped the Jumbos earn the top seed in the NESCAC Tournament and win their first NESCAC Championship since 2002. Tufts earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will host Lesley in a first-round game on November 15.
Sugrue is the first Tufts player to be named NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year since the award’s inception in 2023. The senior has started 17 of the 18 games she has played and contributed three goals and two assists for eight points.
Lloyd is the third Williams player to be named NESCAC Rookie of the Year and the first Eph since 2003. The first-year forward, who was also named to the All-NESCAC Second Team, has played in all 18 games, earning nine starts. Lloyd ranks fifth in the league with eight goals and is second on the team in scoring with 18 points (8G, 2A).
Williams, the No. 2 seed in the NESCAC Tournament, finished as the NESCAC Runners-Up and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament field. The Ephs are set to host John Jay in a first-round match on November 15.
The Tufts staff of head coach Martha Whiting (26th season) and assistant coaches Taylor Dempsey, Oli Gunnarsson, and Ilana Albert were honored by their peers as the NESCAC Coaching Staff of the Year. It is the sixth time in Whiting’s career that the staff has been recognized with the award (2002, 2005, 2010, 2017, 2019). The Jumbos earned the top seed in the NESCAC Tournament and won their first title since 2002. Tufts earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and is making its 12th postseason appearance.
2025 NESCAC Women's Soccer Awards
Player of the Year: Elsi Aires, Tufts
Defensive Player of the Year: Lena Sugrue, Tufts
Rookie of the Year: Maya Lloyd, Williams
Coaching Staff of the Year: Tufts (Martha Whiting, Taylor Dempsey, Oli Gunnarsson, Ilana Albert)
| All-NESCAC First Team |
|
|
|
|
| Pos |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| G |
Molly Brumbach |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Montclair, N.J. |
2024 DPOY, 2024 1st Team, 2023 2nd Team |
| D |
Samantha DeWitt |
Colby |
Jr. |
Westport, Conn. |
2024 2nd Team |
| D |
Ella Johnson |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Seattle, Wash. |
2024 2nd Team |
| D |
Paige Nelson |
Williams |
Sr. |
Sudbury, Mass. |
|
| D |
Lena Sugrue |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Mill Valley, Calif. |
|
| M |
Reese Birch |
Tufts |
Jr. |
Mission Hills, Kan. |
|
| M |
Stella Espinasse |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Mill Valley, Calif. |
|
| M |
Caroline Kelly |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Southborough, Mass. |
2024 1st Team |
| M |
Annie Liebich |
Colby |
Jr. |
Boise, Idaho |
2024 1st Team |
| F |
Elsi Aires |
Tufts |
Sr. |
Westborough, Mass. |
2024 POY, 2024 1st Team, 2023 1st Team |
| F |
Kayley Huleatt |
Bowdoin |
So. |
Rifton, N.Y. |
|
| F |
Abigail Jarvi |
Colby |
Jr. |
Gilford, N.H. |
2024 1st Team |
| F |
Elizabeth Stophel |
Williams |
So. |
Chattanooga, Tenn. |
|
| F |
Maria Utz |
Wesleyan |
Jr. |
Atlanta, Ga. |
2024 2nd Team |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| All-NESCAC Second Team |
|
|
|
|
| Pos |
Name |
School |
Yr. |
Hometown |
Previous Honors |
| G |
Livia Davidson |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
Tuxedo, N.Y. |
|
| D |
Wynne Braemer |
Middlebury |
Fy. |
Denver, Colo. |
|
| D |
Kyra Hacker |
Bowdoin |
Sr. |
Natick, Mass. |
|
| D |
Roshann Purcell |
Middlebury |
Sr. |
Seattle, Wash. |
|
| D |
Tori Rideau-Winds |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
West Orange, N.J. |
2024 1st Team |
| D |
Sheridan Snow |
Wesleyan |
So. |
Bethesda, Md. |
2024 ROY |
| M |
Riley Buehler |
Wesleyan |
Sr. |
Portland, Ore. |
|
| M |
Ansley Burns |
Williams |
Sr. |
Scottsdale, Ariz. |
|
| M |
Lucy Carrel |
Williams |
Fy. |
Bellevue, Wash. |
|
| M |
Gigi Day |
Middlebury |
Jr. |
Washington, Conn. |
2023 Co-ROY, 2023 2nd Team |
| M |
Sarah Flood |
Hamilton |
Jr. |
Toronto, Ontario |
|
| M |
Madison Genser |
Colby |
Jr. |
Newton Center, Mass. |
|
| M |
Brooke Ingemi |
Amherst |
Sr. |
Plymouth, Mass. |
|
| F |
Emma Darling |
Amherst |
Fy. |
Weston, Mass. |
|
| F |
Isabel Harvey |
Hamilton |
So. |
Rye, N.Y. |
2024 2nd Team |
| F |
Elena Lindonen |
Trinity |
Sr. |
Boxford, Mass. |
2024 2nd Team, 2023 1st Team |
| F |
Maya Lloyd |
Williams |
Fy. |
Lexington, Mass. |
|
