FRISCO, Texas — Lamar's Lauren Smith and Maddie Rich along with East Texas A&M's Malaya Ring have won this week's Southland Conference weekly soccer awards, the conference office announced Tuesday. Smith gets her second nod of the season while Ring and Rich are first-time winners this season.
Offensive Player of the Week: Lauren Smith, Lamar – Jr. – F – Birmingham, England (Tudor Grange Academy)
Smith sparked Lamar by scoring both goals in the Cardinals' 2-0 win over first-place Northwestern State, Thursday These goals were within six minutes of each other (77-83) and have also given her the Southland Conference lead in goals with 12. It was her second multi-goal game of the season and also keeps her ahead of the field in points (28, 12 goals, four assists).
Defensive Player of the Week: Malaya Ring, East Texas A&M – Fr. – D – Dana Point, Calif. (Dana Hills High School)
Ring came off the bench, but played 59 minutes on the backline in the Lions' 1-0 shutout win over UTRGV on Thursday to keep their hopes alive for a SLC title. She was responsible for the assist on a long free kick on the match-winning goal.
Goalkeeper of the Week: Maddie Rich – Jr. – GK – Katy, Texas (Seven Lakes High School)
Rich posted her second straight shutout of the season by holding down the top-offensive team in the conference, Northwestern State, for a 2-0 win. In this win, she made three saves on nine shots faced, including one against then-leading scorer Emily Senatore. All three saves occurred before Lamar took the lead for good on Thursday and were able to gain three points and move closer to hosting a game in the conference tournament.
Honorable mention: Gillian McKenzie, East Texas A&M
2025 Southland Women's Soccer Players of the Week
| Date |
Offensive |
Defensive |
Goalkeeper |
| Aug. 19 |
Emily Senatore, Northwestern State |
Alexia Murillo, HCU |
Kennedy Rist, Northwestern State |
| Aug. 26 |
Cilia Leal, A&M-Corpus Christi |
Abbie Bailey, UTRGV |
Kennedy Rist, Northwestern State |
| Sept. 2 |
Emily Gundin, Northwestern State |
Kate Bouck, Northwestern State |
Veronica Pacione, East Texas A&M |
| Sept. 9 |
Emily Senatore, Northwestern State |
Sydney Williams, SFA |
Sierra McCluer, SFA |
| Sept. 16 |
Lauren Smith, Lamar |
Ella Quinlan, Southeastern |
Emmy McKeon, HCU |
| Sept. 23 |
Alana Lawless-Felarca, East Texas A&M |
Bryn Geppert, SFA |
Kennedy Rist, Northwestern State |
| Sept. 30 |
Alexi Pitt, McNeese |
Bryn Geppert, SFA |
Emmy McKeon, HCU |
| Oct. 7 |
Emily Senatore, Northwestern State & Isabella Burtini, UTRGV |
Abbie Bailey, UTRGV |
Emilia Compian, UTRGV |
| Oct. 14 |
Taylor Dodson, SFA |
Katya Alexis, HCU |
Celeste Marijnissen, McNeese |
| Oct. 21 |
Paige Baumgartner, Northwestern State |
Jessica Spitzer, Northwestern State |
Kennedy Rist, Northwestern State |
| Oct. 28 |
Lauren Smith, Lamar |
Malaya Ring, East Texas A&M |
Maddie Rich, Lamar |
Southland weekly award winners are nominated and voted upon by each school’s sports information director. Voting for one’s own athlete is not permitted. To earn honorable mention, a student-athlete must appear on 25 percent of ballots.