Lobo Soccer Earns Seven MW All-Conference Honors, Three Individual Awards
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – As the Lobos gear up for Mountain West Semifinals, the conference announced the 2021 All-Conference Teams and individual awards on Tuesday afternoon. New Mexico led the MW with the most total awards (10) as they received seven All-Conference placements and three individual awards. Fresno State followed with nine awards, including eight All-Conference awards and an individual award.
The Lobos received three individual honors this season. Heather Dyche earned Coach of the Year, Jadyn Edwards earned Offensive Player of the Year and Zaria Katesigwa earned Newcomer of the Year. This year marks the second time in program history that New Mexico has earned three of the four individual awards. The last time it happened was after the 2010 season.
This is Dyche’s second time earning the Coach of the Year award after receiving it in the 2020 season (which was played in the spring of 2021). Coming into this season, Dyche was fourth in the Mountain West record book in the all-time coaching records with a .674 win percentage. She led the Lobos to an undefeated conference record at home. Dyche has a 77-42-13 record in seven seasons as the Lobos head coach after the conclusion of this regular season. She has led the Lobos to two straight Mountain West Regular Season Champion titles. This marks the third time a New Mexico coach has earned the honor.
Edwards earned the Offensive Player of the Year award after leading the conference in nearly every offensive category during the regular season. This also marks her second season in a row earning First-Team and her third career All-Conference selection as she placed on the Second Team in 2019. Edwards earned Offensive Player of the Week on September 13. She also placed on the All-Conference First Team. She leads the MW in shots (76), shots on goal (34), goals (10), and points (28). In the shots category, Edwards sits alone in top with 29 more shots than the second-place leader. She also continues to etch her name in the New Mexico all-time history book as she is tied for second in assists (19), third in points (63), and sixth in goals (22). The last time the Lobos earned Offensive Player of the Year was in 2011 when Jennifer Williams earned the honor.
Katesigwa earned the Newcomer of the Year award after a phenomenal first collegiate season, along with All-Conference Second Team and All-Newcomer Team. Katesigwa earned MW Freshman of the Week on September 27. She has the most game-winning goals (3) and points (19) by any freshman in the conference. She is tied with Denise Castro from San Diego State for most by a freshman in the conference this season with eight goals this season. This is the first time since the award was created in 2016 that the Lobos have earned a Newcomer of the Year award.
Four Lobos on the First Team marks the second most in program history. New Mexico had five in the 2020 season as Jadyn Edwards, Emily Johnson, Alexa Kirton, Karlee Maes and Gwen Maly all made the First Team. This season, Edwards, Johnson and Maes earned a First-Team placement for the second season in a row. Molly Myers also earned her first First-Team honor as a Lobo, after transferring from Washington State last season.
Johnson earns her second career All-Conference First-Team award, after earning it for the first time last season. She is the only goalkeeper on the first team. Johnson earned MW Defensive Player of the Week on September 6. She has earned the weekly award once every season since the 2018 season. The redshirt senior has made a huge impact on the Lobos, on and off the field. This season, she has notched 68 saves and allowed just 15 goals to account for a 10-3-2 record as the starting goalkeeper. In the all-time record book, Johnson sits in second with 40 wins, fourth with 255 saves and fifth with 1.18 goals against average in her career.
Maes earns her second straight career All-Conference First Team placement. She has been a vital part of the Lobos’ success this season as she consistently shuts down the competition on the defensive line. Maes has been a part of many blocked shots and off-target shots as she has put pressure on the opponents’ attacks. Her strong discipline and strategy when defending the box has got the Lobos out of the toughest positions in intense matches. Her efforts have kept pressure off of goalkeeper Johnson throughout the season. She notched a team save in New Mexico’s 1-0 shutout over Boise State on Oct. 3. She has started and played the entirety of nearly every match this season, notching 1654 minutes through 18 matches.
Myers earns her first All-Conference First Team placement, after transferring to UNM from Washington State last season. The senior forward has made a huge offensive impact since joining the Lobos, accounting for eight goals and 34 shots this season. She is tied for first in the conference with five others, including Katesigwa, for most game-winning goals (3). She scored both goals against Utah State on Oct. 1, including a penalty kick golden goal in the second overtime period. She has started in 10 matches and totaled 727 minutes as a key forward for the Lobos this season.
New Mexico placed two on the Second Team this season as Katesigwa and Alexa Kirton earned the honor. Kirton has earned All-Conference three times in her career, including a Second-Team placement in 2019 and a First-Team placement in 2020. The senior midfielder has made a huge impact on the program throughout her career. She is the record holder for most career games played (84), a record she broke in the second-to-last game of the season against Air Force on Oct. 24. She has played and started in every game for the Lobos this season, accounting for 1516 total minutes.
Full List of Honorees:
2021 Mountain West Individual Awards
Offensive Player of the Year: Jadyn Edwards, New Mexico
Defensive Player of the Year: Robyn McCarthy, Fresno State
Newcomer of the Year: Zaria Katesigwa, New Mexico
Coach of the Year: Heather Dyche, New Mexico
2021 Mountain West Women’s Soccer All-Conference First Team
Name Class Position Team
Faith Lee Jr. MF Air Force
Gracie Armstrong Sr. F Colorado State
Kristen Noonan Sr. F Colorado State
Kassandra Ceja So. F Fresno State
Robyn McCarthy Sr. D Fresno State
Chais Wright Jr. D Fresno State
Jadyn Edwards Sr. MF New Mexico
Emily Johnson Sr. GK New Mexico
Karlee Maes Sr. D New Mexico
Molly Myers Sr. F New Mexico
Lourdes Bosch Jr. F UNLV
Ashley Cardozo Sr. MF Utah State
2021 Mountain West Women’s Soccer All-Conference Second Team
Name Class Position Team
Abby Bivens Sr. D Boise State
Aubree Chatterton Sr. F Boise State
Jacqui Hand Sr. F Colorado College
Kaelyn Miller Fr. F Fresno State
Sam Tristan Fr. MF Fresno State
Zaria Katesigwa Fr. F New Mexico
Alexa Kirton Sr. MF New Mexico
Denise Castro Fr. F San Diego State
Anna Toohey Sr. MF San Diego State
Kiera Utush Jr. D San Diego State
Karlee Pottorff Sr. D San José State
Diera Walton Jr. GK Utah State
2021 Mountain West Women’s Soccer All-Newcomer Team
Name Class Position Team
Hannah Johnson Fr. D Air Force
Kenzie MacMillan Fr. MF Boise State
Kaelin Enga Fr. MF Colorado College
Shayna Ross Fr. GK Colorado State
Kaelyn Miller Fr. F Fresno State
Sam Tristan Fr. MF Fresno State
Chais Wright Jr. D Fresno State
Emily Rich Fr. F Nevada
Zaria Katesigwa Fr. F New Mexico
Denise Castro Fr. F San Diego State
Addy Symonds Fr. D Utah State