2021 Great Midwest All-Conference Team (Women's Soccer)
ASHLAND, Ohio – The final four teams left in the bracket are preparing to continue their journey through the postseason as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer All-Conference Team and individual award winners were announced on Wednesday afternoon.
A total of 35 student-athletes were voted by the league’s head coaches to either the first team, second team or third team. Every institution had at least one selection to the all-conference team to cap the 2021 regular season.
In the league’s 10th year, the women’s soccer regular season was exciting to monitor with six teams advancing to the playoffs and two programs moving on from Saturday’s quarterfinal contests.
The regular season conference champion was Ashland and the Eagles made their presence felt in year one with the Great Midwest with a 12-0-2 record. Ashland led all teams with seven student-athlete selections on the all-conference team.
The Eagles also celebrated a handful of individual awards with senior Tori Baker being named Great Midwest Defensive Player of the Year by a near unanimous vote and forward McKinley Mendenhall collecting Great Midwest Freshman of the Year honors.
Mendenhall helped Ashland score a league-leading 2.29 goals per game and was able to score 13 points from five goals and three assists. Baker has helped a smothering AU defense record nine shutouts this season while being lauded for her tenacious play and ability to still put the ball in the back of the net offensively.
For the second time in her career, Kentucky Wesleyan forward Madisyn Hunt was the winner of Great Midwest Offensive Player of the Year. The senior is so dynamic that she still manages to put up league-leading numbers despite opponents drawing up a game plan designed to specifically slow her down.
Hunt led all players in the conference with 13 goals and she added three assists for a grand total of 29 points on the season.
Cedarville was idle over the weekend thanks to a first-round bye. The Yellow Jackets were recipients of two major awards including the very first presentation of the Great Midwest Goalkeeper of the Year to Brooke Ackley. Jonathan Meade was recognized by his peers for Great Midwest Coach of the Year accolades.
Ackley posted a 0.34 goals against average while securing seven victories and registering eight clean sheets. Meade guided his talented program to a runner-up finish in the conference standings and have been regionally ranked for three straight weeks. He coached four of his players to first team all-conference honors, including a pair of bookend midfielders, Mackenzie Northcutt and Mary Kate Wyer.
The Elite 25 Award Winner for women’s soccer was Findlay’s Nikki Schuster. Schuster and the Oilers were the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and the senior sports a perfect 4.0 GPA while majoring in Early Childhood Education.
Earlier in the day, Ashland and Cedarville were both also recognized in the third edition of the NCAA Midwest Region rankings at No. 2 and No. 8, respectively.
The Great Midwest Championship semifinals will be conducted on Thursday from Ashland. The top seeded and regular season conference champion Eagles are set to face No. 4 seed Trevecca Nazarene at 4 p.m. ET from Ferguson Field.
The nightcap will feature No. 2 Cedarville taking on No. 6 Walsh with a spot in Saturday’s championship finale at stake with an AQ into the NCAA Championship field.