CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The 2023 All-American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) Women’s Soccer Team as voted by the league’s head coaches: 
 

2023 All-American Rivers Conference Women's Soccer Team
Offensive MVP - Savannah Johnson, Loras
Defensive MVP - Julia Wagoner, Simpson
Coaching Staff of the Year - Loras College Head Coach: Matt Pucci Assistant Coach: Sam Koenig Assistant Coach: Elizabeth Mills
All-Conference	School	Year	Position	Hometown/High School
Paige Cahill	Central College	Sr.	F/MF	Castle Rock, Colo./Castle View
Grace Coates !	Central College	Jr.	F	Marion, Iowa/Marion
Ella Weber	Coe College	Sr.	MF	Rice Lake, Wis./Rice Lake
Emma Kober -h1 -h2	University of Dubuque	Sr.	F	Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha Catholic Memorial
Virginia Speltz -h1	University of Dubuque	Jr.	D	Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago
Alyssa Tranchita	University of Dubuque	So.	MF	Greenfield, Wis./Whitnall
Savannah Johnson -h1	Loras College	Sr.	F	Wauconda, Ill./Wauconda
Kyndal Kells	Loras College	Sr.	GK	Red Oak, Iowa/Red Oak
Regan Lindsay	Loras College	Jr.	MF	Waterloo, Iowa/Waterloo
Julia Neary	Loras College	Fifth Yr.	F	San Franciso, Calif./Vernon Hills
Libby Perry !	Loras College	Sr.	D	Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic
Hannah Schmitz !	Loras College	Sr.	D/MF	Streator, Ill./Streator
Bella Talbot	Loras College	Sr.	F/MF	Houston, Texas/Lourdes
Kaitlyn Bebensee -h1	Luther College	Sr.	D	West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley
Maggie Haller ! $ #	Luther College	Sr.	F	Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle
Emma Lin ! -h2	Luther College	Sr.	MF	Des Moines, Iowa/Roosevelt
Hailey Kowzan	Simpson College	Sr.	MF	Pella, Iowa/Pella
Lani Mears -h1	Simpson College	Sr.	GK	Burlington, Iowa/Burlington Notre Dame
Cassie Nash @ ! $ #	Simpson College	Sr.	F	Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast
Brissa Valadez !	Simpson College	So.	F	Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Lincoln
Julia Wagoner	Simpson College	Sr.	MF	Council Bluffs, Iowa/Abraham Lincoln
Lauren Kirkle	Wartburg College	Jr.	MF	Altoona, Iowa/Southeast Polk
Honorable Mention	School	Year	Position	Hometown/High School
Bridget Lynch	Central College	Fifth Yr.	D	Northglenn, Colo./Jefferson Academy
Zoey Sizemore	Central College	Fr.	GK	Omaha, Neb./Mercy
Bailey Brennan -h1	University of Dubuque	Sr.	D	Blue Springs, Mo./Blue Springs South
Karissa Cruz	University of Dubuque	Fr.	GK	Elgin, Ill./Elgin
Christina Salerno	Loras College	Jr.	D	Hoffman Estates, Ill./Hoffman Estates
Makayla Hadorff	Luther College	Sr.	MF	Eagan, Minn./Visitation
Ken Vavrichek	Luther College	Jr.	GK	Bloomington, Minn./The Blake School
Averie Hike	Nebraska Wesleyan University	Fr.	MF	Papillion, Neb./Papillion-LaVista South
Kaeding Rassfeld	Nebraska Wesleyan University	Sr.	D/F	Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast
Jordyn Foelske	Simpson College	Jr.	F	Denver, Iowa/Denver
Mya Jansen	Wartburg College	So.	F	Muscatine, Iowa/Muscatine
Previous Honors
@ - 2022 Offensive MVP
! - 2022 All-Conference
-h1 - 2022 Honorable Mention
$ - 2021 All-Conference
-h2 - 2021 Honorable Mention
# - 2020 (Spring 2021) All-Conference
-h3 - 2020 (Spring 2021) Honorable Mention

 
The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced today that Loras College senior forward Savannah Johnson (Sr., Wauconda, Ill./Wauconda) has been selected as the league’s Offensive MVP and Simpson College midfielder Julia Wagoner (Sr., Council Bluffs, Iowa/Abraham Lincoln) was named Defensive MVP. Loras head coach Matt Pucci and his staff were voted American Rivers Coaching Staff of the Year. In addition to the major awards, the conference announced the 22-member All-Conference team. 
 
Johnson is earning her spot on First-Team All-Conference for the first time in her career in addition to the MVP award. The senior forward was named to Honorable Mention for her performance during the 2022 season. She is the fifth Loras Duhawk member to receive Offensive MVP accolades, joining Katie Truesdale (2014 & 2015), Elizabeth Mills (2016), Gretchen Schutz (2018), and Brynn Jacobi (2019). Prior to the MVP award being split to recognize an offensive and defensive standout in 2013, Loras had three players named conference MVP. In 2023, Johnson finished conference play with 30 points, coming by 12 goals and six assists, which put her at the top of the conference leaderboard. She was alone at the top of the leaderboard in total goals scored with 12. 
 
Wagoner is the first Simpson Storm player to receive Defensive MVP honors. Prior to the MVP award being split to recognize an offensive and defensive standout in 2013, Simpson had four players named conference MVP. The senior midfielder was part of a defensive unit that finished conference play that only allowed six goals. In addition to her defensive performance, she netted one goal and recorded one assist. 
 
The Loras coaching staff, headed by Pucci, was voted as the league’s Coaching Staff of the Year. The assistant coaches for the Duhawks are Sam Koenig and Elizabeth Mills. The coaching staff guided the Duhawks to a perfect 8-0 record in conference play and an overall record of 15-1. Loras totaled a league best 88 points in their eight conference contests. Their goal total of 30 and assist total of 28 led the league. The Duhawks claimed their third straight regular season title. This is the 14th Coaching Staff of the Year award for the Loras program and Coach Pucci’s fifth as the head coach. 
 
Loras, winners of the 2023 American Rivers Conference regular season, saw six players named to the All-Conference team in addition to Johnson. Goalkeeper, Kyndal Kells (Sr., Red Oak, Iowa/Red Oak) led the defensive front for the Duhawks and only gave up two goals during conference action. Kells started all eight conference matches and recorded three shutouts. Reagan Lindsay (Jr., Waterloo, Iowa/Waterloo) finished conference play with three goals and one assist for a total of eight points as a midfielder for the Duhawks. Julia Neary (Fifth Year, San Francisco, Calif./Vernon Hills) recorded five goals and five assists throughout the conference season for a total of 15 points from the forward position. Neary added two game-winners for the Duhawks. Libby Perry (Sr., Dubuque, Iowa/Wahlert Catholic) earned a spot on the All-Conference team for the second consecutive year. Perry played a key role in the Duhawk defense this season as a defender and midfielder. Hannah Schmitz (Sr., Streator, Ill./Streator), a defender and midfielder, recorded three assists and one goal for Loras, totaling five points. Rounding out the Duhawks All-Conference performers is Bella Talbot (Sr., Houston, Texas/Lourdes) who recorded eight points during the season which included two goals and four assists as a forward and midfielder. 
 
American Rivers Conference regular-season runner-up, Simpson College, had four players receive All-Conference in addition to Wagoner earning Defensive MVP honors. 2022 A-R-C Offensive MVP, Cassie Nash (Sr., Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Southeast), found her way to the All-Conference team again for the fourth time in her career as a forward. Nash netted nine goals and recorded five assists on the season for a total of 23 points. Her point total and goals rank second in the league. Hailey Kowzan (Sr., Pella, Iowa/Pella) a midfielder earns honors after totaling three points this season for the Storm, which included one goal and one assist. Her lone goal in conference action this season was a game-winner. Lani Mears (Sr., Burlington, Iowa/Burlington Notre Dame) earns All-Conference honors after earning Honorable Mention honors during the 2022 season as the Storms goalkeeper. Mears appeared in five conference games this season, recording one shutout and allowing five goals. Brissa Valadez (So., Des Moines, Iowa/Des Moines Lincoln) is appearing on the All-Conference team for the second consecutive year after adding to the Storm offense as a forward. Valadez recorded seven points throughout the season while recording three goals and one assist. 
 
Dubuque had three players receive All-Conference honors. Emma Kober (Sr., Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha Catholic Memorial) made her way onto the All-Conference team after two honorable mention recognitions in 2021 and 2022. Kober, a forward, led the Spartans offense with six goals and six assists for a total of 18 points throughout league play. She recorded two gamewinners. Virginia Speltz (Jr., Winnebago, Ill./Winnebago) is earning All-Conference honors for the first time in her career following earning honorable mention honors a season ago. Speltz guided the Dubuque defense while also recording one assist in league action. Alyssa Tranchita (So., Greenfield, Wis./Whitnall) added to the Dubuque offense by recording four goals and one assist for nine points. 
 
Earning All-Conference for Luther is Kaitlyn Bebensee (Sr., West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley), Maggie Haller (Sr., Minneapolis, Minn./DeLaSalle), and Emma Lin (Sr., Des Moines, Iowa/Roosevelt). Bebensee, a defender, played every minute except seven minutes throughout conference play to lead the Norse defense. Additionally, she recorded two goals and two assists for six points. Bebensee is earning All-Conference honors after earning honorable mention for the 2022 season. Haller, earning All-Conference honors for the fourth time in her career as a forward, guided the Luther offense posting a total of 17 points with seven assists and five goals. Lin is earning her second consecutive All-Conference honor after earning honorable mention honors in 2021 as a midfielder. She recorded one goal and one assist during conference play. 
 
Lauren Kirkle (Jr., Altoona, Iowa/Southeast Polk) is picking up All-Conference recognition for the Wartburg Knights. The midfielder led the Wartburg offense this season recording three goals and one assist for a total of seven points. She recorded one game winner on the season.