FRISCO, Texas — Northwestern State's Paige Baumgartner along with McNeese's Rebecca Romero and Shannon Dempsey have earned this week's Southland Women's Soccer Player of the Week awards, the conference office announced Tuesday.
Offensive Player of the Week: Paige Baumgartner, Northwestern State – Gr. – F – Rowlett, Texas (Sachse High School)
Baumgartner had a strong weekend, scoring three of the six goals for the Demons, leading the team to its first victory of the season in a 5-2 triumph over Louisiana Tech. She scored the first two goals of the game for NSU against the Bulldogs, leading it back from an early two-goal deficit.
Honorable mention: Olivia Rossman, HCU
Defensive Player of the Week: Rebecca Romero, McNeese – Sr. – M/D – Katy, Texas (Seven Lakes High School)
Romero helped anchor the Cowgirls backline this week to capture two shutout victories while seeing all 180 minutes on the pitch. Against the Bulldogs the Cowgirls won 2-0 while the defense only allowed 11 shots with only two on target. In Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Grambling, the backline only allowed the Tigers to get off 9 shots with 4 on target.
Goalkeeper of the Week: Shannon Dempsey, McNeese – So. – GK – Yorba Linda, Calif. (Esperanza High School)
Dempsey anchored the Cowgirls in goal this week, playing all 180 minutes while helping McNeese secure two consecutive shutout victories. Dempsey faced just 20 shots across the two matches and recorded six saves, keeping both Louisiana Tech and Grambling off the scoreboard. The two solo shutouts bring her season total to three, with one additional combined shutout on the year. With the two victories, Dempsey individually improved to 4-1 on the season.
2026 Southland Women's Soccer Players of the Week
| Date |
Offensive |
Defensive |
Goalkeeper |
| Aug. 18 |
Alexandra Knight, Southeastern |
Alex Arvanitis, McNeese |
Aislinn Wright, Nicholls |
| Aug. 25 |
Isabella Burtini, UTRGV |
Lainey Connell, Southeastern |
Emmy McKeon, HCU |
| Sept. 1 |
Katie Porter, A&M-Corpus Christi |
Sienna Church, UTRGV |
Mariana Amezcua, UTRGV |
| Sept. 8 |
Paige Baumgartner, Northwestern State |
Rebecca Romero, McNeese |
Shannon Dempsey, McNeese |