INDIANAPOLIS—The final four teams left in the women’s soccer bracket are preparing to continue their journey through the postseason as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference announced the all-conference and individual award winners Thursday afternoon. 
 
The league’s head coaches voted student-athletes to either first or second team in addition to individual awards. 
 
Cayleb Paulino was voted this year’s Coach of the Year after leading the Eagles to a regular season title. Ashland finished the regular season with a conference record of 12-0-2. 
 
The Eagles are celebrated with seven student-athletes named to the all-conference teams, including two individual award winners. Dani Hicks and Merrik Mihalek were voted as the league’s top offensive and defensive players, respectively. Hicks led the G-MAC in goals scored (13), points (32), and game-winning goals (6). Through 18 games, the Lebanon, Ohio native registered a .413 SOG% as well as six assists on the year. Hicks’ teammate Merrik Mihalek was voted the conference’s top defender after leading an Eagle defense that allowed just five goals on the year. Mihalek has started in all 18 games, scoring five goals and adding one assist for 11 points this season. In addition to Hicks and Mihalek, the Eagles landed two more individuals on the all-conference first team in McKinley Mendenhall and Adi Turnbaugh. Turnbaugh joins Mihalek as one of the leaders to an Ashland defense that has one of the top GAA in the country. Mendenhall is ranked second in the conference in goals (10), third in game-winning goals (3), first in assists (8), and tied for first in points with Hicks at 32 this season. Paulino and the Eagles earned the No. 1 seed and will serve as the host site for the conference championship. 
 
Under first-year head coach Sierra Tom, the Oilers recorded a 10-3-1 conference record, earning them the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. A trio of Oilers were named to the first-team, including Alyssa Stark, Sydney Noble, and Payton Miller. Stark, the 2021 Freshman of the Year, started and played in all 17 games so far this season. She’s recorded two goals this season as a center back. Noble is Findlay’s leading scorer with 10 and two assists for 22 points this season. Miller rounds out first-team selections from Findlay. The Maumee, Ohio native has registered four goals and two assists this season from the midfield. The Oilers are set to face No. 3 Northwood in the conference semi final round. 
 
Northwood is slotted as the No. 3 seed with a conference record of 12-2-5. The Timberwolves advanced to the semifinals after beating Malone by a score of 3-0. Coaches voted Ella Boyd as the Freshman of the Year. Boyd appeared in all 18 games and started inn 13 during her rookie season. The Oxford, Mich. native connected on eight goals and two assists for 18 points. Northwood’s Brooke Honeycutt and Carly Boyd were also all-conference selections for the Timberwolves. 
 
Cedarville earned the No. 4 seed and will face top-seeded Ashland. The Yellow Jackets have a depth of talent, led by Goalkeeper of the Year Brooke Ackley. Ackley recorded a league-high six shutouts through 19 games. The graduate student tabbed a GAA of .892 with 1,613:48 minutes in net. In addition to Ackley, Megan McClish and Sophie Browndyke earned spots on the first-team. McClish, a senior midfielder, started in 19 games for the Yellow Jackets and totaled eight points this season. Browndyke has led a Cedarville defense that allowed just 16 goals this season with a GAA of .842. 
 
Thomas More’s Andjela Popovic rounds out the all-conference first team. This season, she logged 1,376 minutes while finishing the year with nine goals and four assists. Her nine goals is fourth highest in the conference. 
 
The sport’s Elite 26 Award winner was Walsh’s Kiara McMillen. This is the second consecutive year McMillen earned the award. Kiara is a psychology major who had the highest qualifying GPA from teams that qualified for the conference tournament as the Cavaliers earned the No. 5 seed before falling to Cedarville. 
 
The first semifinal game will take place on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 3:30 P.M. ET followed by the second match at 6:30 P.M. ET. Visit the Championship Central Page for more information. 
 
A full list of honorees can be found HERE.