SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Seniors Abigail Lopez and Sydney Sharts were named to the first team, senior Cassandra Herrman picked up second-team honors, while junior Madelyn Dougherty and sophomore Ellie Farber joined them on the honorable mention squad, as the Big Sky Conference announced its postseason honor roll on Tuesday.
Lopez was named to the first team for the second straight season and became only the fourth Hornet to win four All-Big Sky honors in a career, joining Katie McCoy (first-team honors in 2005-07 and a second-team award in 2004), Kara Taylor (first-team honors in 2005, 2007-08 and an honorable mention award in 2006), and Aubrey Goodwill (first-team honors in 2021-22, a second-team award in 2020, and an honorable mention selection in 2019).
She is only the 11th Sacramento State women's soccer player to earn multiple All-Big Sky first team awards and the first time Jasmyne Dunn and Aubrey Goodwill did so in 2021-22. Meanwhile, Sharts, Herrman, Dougherty, and Farber, all earned their first awards from the Big Sky Conference.
Lopez enters this year's Big Sky Conference Tournament leading the team in scoring with four goals and three assists for 11 points, while also topping the squad in shot attempts (42) and shots on goal (17). She finished with goals in back-to-back matches against CSUN and Cal State Bakersfield, while scoring a point in three straight matches with goals against Idaho State and Northern Colorado sandwiched around a two-assist performance against Weber State.
She was named the Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 8 following victories over the Bengals and Wildcats with her goal and two assists. Those performances helped push her into the top 10 in school history in both goals scored and points, entering the postseason tournament ranked tied for seventh with 15 career goals and tied for eighth with 37 points.
In addition to her two goals scored in back-to-back matches against Idaho State and Weber State (a feat that earned her Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week laurels), Sharts picked up her first career all-conference honor after helping spearhead a Hornets' back line along with Herrman that allowed the fewest goals (21) in a full season by a Hornet defense since the 2019 squad surrendered only 14.
Herrman, meanwhile, added a pair of assists to her season tally along with her defensive duties, helping on goals against Cal State Bakersfield and Idaho State.
Dougherty is in the midst of a career year for the Hornets statistically, finishing with a pair of goals and two assists to rank third on the team with six points. Her goal against Houston Christian on Aug. 17 was the game-winner, while also adding the tying goal in a 1-1 draw at Northern Arizona on Oct. 20. Her two assists came against Idaho State and Portland State — the latter helping Sacramento State clinch a Big Sky Tournament berth with a 1-0 win over the Vikings.
Farber finished the season second on the team in scoring with seven points, scoring three goals and adding an assist. The sophomore finished with a career-high three points thanks to a goal and an assist against Houston Christian and added her second goal of the year five days later in a 1-1 draw with UC Santa Barbara, scoring with just 39 seconds remaining in regulation to forge the draw.
Later in the year, Farber opened the scoring in a 3-0 rout of Weber State on Oct. 6, netting her first career game-winner.
The No. 5 seed in this week's Big Sky Tournament, the Hornets put their six-match unbeaten streak (3-0-3) on the line against No. 4-seeded Northern Arizona in one of two opening-round matches on Wednesday (Nov. 6) at 1 p.m. PT.
2024 BIG SKY CONFERENCE WOMEN'S SOCCER AWARDS
Co-Offensive MVP: Chloe Pattison, Eastern Washington/Jen Estes, Montana
Defensive MVP: Alyssa Peters, Idaho
Goalkeeper of the Year: Bayliss Flynn, Montana
Newcomer of the Year: Jen Estes, Montana*
Freshman of the Year: Aliayha Saldana, Portland State
Coach of the Year: Missy Strasburg, Eastern Washington
First Team
GK: Bayliss Flynn, Montana
D: Alyssa Peters, Idaho
D: Ava Samuelson, Montana
D: Sydney Sharts, Sacramento State
D: Liv Frazier, Portland State
D: Charley Boone, Montana
MF: Abigail Lopez, Sacramento State
MF: Kendall Moore, Eastern Washington
MF: Maddie Ditta, Montana
MF: Annika Farley, Idaho
F: Chloe Pattison, Eastern Washington
F: Jen Estes, Montana
F: Haylee Phoenix, Northern Arizona
Second Team
GK: Kamryn Willoughby, Eastern Washington
D: Cassandra Herrman, Sacramento State
D: Kalo Iongi, Portland State
D: Iris Mattern, Eastern Washington
D: Riley Arribas, Eastern Washington
MF: Margo Schoesler, Idaho
MF: Joey Lujan, Northern Arizona
MF: Avery Ott, Northern Arizona
MF: Elle Frazier, Portland State
F: Chloe Seelhoff, Montana
F: Ali Swensen, Weber State
F: Aliayha Saldana, Portland State
Honorable Mention
GK: Trinity Hale, Idaho State
GK: Trinity Corcoran, Northern Arizona
D: Cassidy Elicker, Idaho
D: Rebekah Reyes, Idaho
D: Samantha Kearns, Weber State
MF: Hannah Alfaro-Black, Idaho
MF: Carly Whalen, Montana
MF: Lucy Quinn, Portland State
MF: Madelyn Dougherty, Sacramento State
MF: Ellie Farber, Sacramento State
F: Sammie Sofonia, Weber State
F: Karli Yoshida-Williams, Idaho
F: Delani Walker, Eastern Washington
* - unanimous pick
Five defenders on the 1st team due to a tie
