FRISCO – Regular season Southland champion Lamar adds a dominant showing on the Southland Women’s Soccer All-Conference Teams and Superlatives to its list of accomplishments, the conference office announced Monday.
The Cardinals claimed five of the league’s eight superlatives. Senior Marissa Gross leads the way as Player of the Year and Forward of the Year, after netting a conference-best 11 goals this fall, including the game-winner in Lamar’s regular-season finale against McNeese. Gross’s teammate Sofia Wilby was named Midfielder of the Year. The sophomore recorded three goals and four assists in 17 matches this season. She also set up Gross’s winning goal against McNeese.
Keely Thomas was selected Goalkeeper of the Year in her first season at Lamar. The senior recorded six shutouts, earned three Southland Goalkeeper of the Week honors and led the conference with a 0.42 goals-against average and a .881 save percentage.
Cardinals head coach Nathan Kogut earned Coach of the Year, the third time he has received the honor. He guided Lamar to the outright regular-season title, a 10-2-5 overall record and a 7-1-2 mark in league play. The Cardinals were also unbeaten at home (6-0-2), their first undefeated home season since 2017, and they earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
East Texas A&M’s Allyson Reed was voted Newcomer of the Year after a standout debut season in the Southland. Reed scored eight goals and notched two assists for the Lions. Her teammate Judith Nandwa was named Defender of the Year after starting all 18 regular season games for East Texas A&M and logging nearly 1,600 minutes.
Nicholls’ Jezlyn Nelson earned Freshman of the Year accolades. The forward tallied six goals and added two assists for the Colonels.
Lamar paced all schools with five First Team All-Southland honorees, followed by East Texas A&M with three. HCU led the way on the Second Team with five selections. The league’s head coaches and SIDs nominate and vote on the Southland Conference Soccer All-Conference Teams.
The Southland Conference Soccer Championship opens Tuesday, November 10, in Commerce, Texas, hosted by East Texas A&M. The semifinals are set for Thursday, November 12, and the championship match is scheduled for Sunday, November 15.
Player of the Year: Marissa Gross, Lamar
Freshman of the Year: Jezlyn Nelson, Nicholls
Newcomer of the Year: Allyson Reed, East Texas A&M
Defender of the Year: Judith Nandwa, East Texas A&M
Midfielder of the Year: Sofia Wilby, Lamar
Forward of the Year: Marissa Gross, Lamar
Goalkeeper of the Year: Keely Thomas, Lamar
Coach of the Year: Nathan Kogut, Lamar
2026 Southland Conference Soccer All-Conference Teams
First Team
| Position |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| FWD |
Marissa Gross |
Lamar |
Sr. |
South Grand Prairie, Texas |
| FWD |
Allyson Reed |
East Texas A&M |
Jr. |
Cleburne, Texas |
| FWD |
Rhiannon Maynes-Tourond |
McNeese |
So. |
Kelowna, BC, Canada |
| FWD |
Alex Knight |
Southeastern |
So. |
Shreveport, La. |
| MF |
Sofia Wilby |
Lamar |
So. |
Manchester, England |
| MF |
Kristen Sueltz |
East Texas A&M |
Sr. |
The Colony, Texas |
| MF |
Isabella Alamo |
HCU |
So. |
Allen, Texas |
| MF |
Alyssa Wheeler |
Nicholls |
5th-Yr. |
Clovis, Calif. |
| DF |
Judith Nandwa |
East Texas A&M |
So. |
Mumias, Kenya |
| DF |
Riley Wilson |
Lamar |
Sr. |
Round Rock, Texas |
| DF |
Annelise Switzer |
Lamar |
Sr. |
Houston, Texas |
| DF |
Gisele Kehres |
HCU |
So. |
Freindswood, Texas |
| GK |
Keely Thomas |
Lamar |
Sr. |
Richmond, Va. |
Second Team
| Position |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| FWD |
Paisley Barela |
HCU |
So. |
Lone Tree, Colo. |
| FWD |
Tyler Coker |
UIW |
Sr. |
Albuquerque, N.M. |
| FWD |
Olivia Rossman |
HCU |
Sr. |
Santa Ana, Calif. |
| FWD |
Sumayah Brown |
McNeese |
So. |
Coconut Creek, Fla. |
| MF |
Isabella Dillow |
HCU |
Sr. |
The Woodlands, Texas |
| MF |
Riley Stern |
Northwestern State |
5th Yr. |
Fort Worth, Texas |
| MF |
Jasmine Diaz |
HCU |
So. |
Fresno, Texas |
| MF |
Isabella Baltov |
McNeese |
Fr. |
Shreveport, La. |
| DF |
Montanna Mathews |
UIW |
Jr. |
Albury, Australia |
| DF |
Hayden Kish |
UIW |
Fr. |
Orlando, Fla. |
| DF |
Lauryn Woodard |
Lamar |
Fr. |
Mansfield, Texas |
| DF |
Mikaela Valentine |
HCU |
Fr. |
South Grand Prairie, Texas |
| GK |
Shannon Dempsey |
McNeese |
So |
Yorba Linda, Calif. |