TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The 2024 All-Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) women's soccer teams and yearly award winners, as determined by vote of the league's 11 head coaches, were announced Tuesday evening. The teams were first revealed during an announcement show through the PAC Sports Network.

The coaches voted Allegheny College senior forward Emma Miller as the PAC Offensive Player of the Year, while the conference's Defensive Player of the Year award went to Westminster junior goalkeeper Morgan Murphy. Earning the PAC Newcomer of the Year was Franciscan University freshman forward Eva Dexter and Westminster head coach Girish Thakar was selected as the league's Coach of the Year.

Also a First Team All-PAC selection as well as Offensive Player of the Year, Miller had a historic season for the Gators. She led the conference with 27 goals, which is tied for second in NCAA Division III, and 66 points, which ranks third in the country. In addition, her 27 goals are tied for third most in PAC single-season history with Jordan Toohey from Washington & Jefferson, who scored 27 in 2015, and the 66 points is tied for fourth-most in conference history. 

Led by Miller's offensive production, which featured 12 goals and nine assists in 10 PAC matches for 33 points, Allegheny finished third in the conference regular season standings. In the PAC Tournament for the first time, the Gators added their first conference postseason win as well, as Miller scored the first two goals and added an assist in Allegheny's 3-1 quarterfinal round victory over Waynesburg University. Miller also had a goal in the Gators' semifinal loss to eventual PAC champion Grove City College and was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Murphy's Defensive Player of the Award makes it back-to-back years a Westminster player has earned the honor after Sophia Galietta received the recognition in 2023. The Titans allowed just seven goals in 10 PAC regular season matches and Murphy posted three shutouts in conference action. Her top efforts in PAC matches came when she stopped eight shots in a shutout win over Waynesburg, as well as eight stops in a victory over Allegheny, which helped her post an .850 save percentage in PAC matches.

This award adds to an already large collection for Murphy. She was the 2022 PAC Newcomer of the Year and, including this year now, she is a three-time First Team All-PAC selection at keeper.

Dexter is the first Franciscan player to earn the PAC Newcomer of the Year award. Her 14 goals and 30 points were the most by any freshman in the conference and both numbers ranked fourth in the league. Twelve of her goals were in PAC matches, including hat tricks in a 3-0 win over Chatham Sept. 28th and in a 9-0 victory over Thiel Oct. 12th. Dexter also scored twice for the Barons in a narrow 4-3 loss to eventual champion Grove City back on Oct. 16th.

Thakar just completed his 22nd season guiding the Westminster women's program. This is his fourth Coach of the Year award on the women's side and first since 2006. Thakar led the Titans to a 9-0-1 mark in the PAC regular season to earn the top seed in the PAC Tournament. Westminster edged Saint Vincent 1-0 in the semifinals to earn their third trip to the Championship game in the last four years, where they dropped a tightly-contested 4-3 decision to Grove City. The Titans finished this season with an 11-6-1 record overall, giving Thakar a 289-134-43 mark in his tenure at Westminster.

As the winner of this year's championship tournament, their second title in a row, Grove City also received the conference's automatic qualifying bid to the Division III Championship. Grove City (13-3-3) will face host Misericordia (17-1-2) in Saturday's first round of the national tournament, with the winner to play the winner of Ithaca/Penn State Behrend in the second round on Sunday. This is Grove City seventh all-time appearance in the Division III Championship.

PAC Award Winners
PAC Player of the Year: Allegheny senior forward Emma Miller (Elyria, Ohio/Lake Ridge Academy)
PAC Defensive Player of the Year: Westminster junior goalkeeper Morgan Murphy (Yardley, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie)
PAC Newcomer of the Year: Franciscan freshman forward Eva Dexter (Troy, Ohio/Lehman Catholic)
PAC Coach of the Year: Westminster head coach Girish Thakar
 

All-PAC First Team
Name	School	Position	Year	Hometown/High School
Emma Miller	Allegheny	F	Sr.	Elyria, Ohio/Lake Ridge Academy
Eva Dexter	Franciscan	F	Fr.	Troy, Ohio/Lehman Catholic
Julz Mohrbacher	Waynesburg	F	So.	Freedom, Pa./Freedom
Katherine Surdykowski	Allegheny	M	So.	Chesterfield, N.J./Northern Burlington County Regional
Emma Herrmann	Grove City	M	Sr.	Hilton, N.Y./Paul V. Moore
Tanisha Grewal	Saint Vincent	M	5th	Grantville, Pa./Eastern Lebanon
Brooke Horvath	Westminster	M	Sr.	Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional
Waverly Lorne	Waynesburg	D	So.	New Providence, N.J./Governor Livingston
Gabby Hunter	Westminster	D	Sr.	New Baltimore, Mich./Anchor Bay
Lydia Ohm	Westminster	D	Sr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills
Morgan Murphy	Westminster	GK	Jr.	Yardley, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie

 

All-PAC Honorable Mention
Name	School	Position	Year	Hometown | High School
Jada Benjamin	Bethany	F	Sr.	Potter's Village, St. John, Antigua/Clare Secondary School
Saige Musser	Geneva	F	Sr.	Denver, Pa./Cocalico
Britta Lagerquist	Grove City	F	Sr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel
Tori Stevenson	Grove City	F	So.	Butler, Pa./Butler
Emma Koller	Saint Vincent	F	So.	Baltimore, Md./Eastern Tech
Amanda Pepe	Waynesburg	F	Fr.	Mantua, N.J./Gloucester County Institute of Technology
Jocelyn Gratchic	Westminster	F	So.	Connellsville, Pa./Connellsville
Allie Augustine	Westminster	F	Sr.	Cortland, Ohio/Lakeview
Avallina Aurilio	Bethany	M	So.	Niles, Ohio/Niles McKinley
Halle Marsalis	Chatham	M	Jr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny
Elise Winogradoff	Franciscan	M	So.	Stormville, N.Y./Our Lady of Lourdes
Emma Maloberti	Westminster	M	Jr.	Cranberry Twp., Pa./Seneca Valley
Emma Milligan	Allegheny	D	Jr.	Parkesburg, Pa./Octorara
Sarah Vescio	Chatham	D	Fr.	Pittsburgh, Pa./Seneca Valley
Teaghan Elmore	Franciscan	D	Jr.	Tostared, Sweden/Aranasgymnasiet
Addie Tallman	Geneva	D	Sr.	Gaithersburg, Md./Homeschool
Alexis Arlaus	Saint Vincent	D	Fr.	Fair Lawn, N.J./Fair Lawn
Courtney Actis	W&J	D	Sr.	Bechtelsville, Pa./Boyertown Area
Hope Fair	Bethany	GK	So.	Dunnville, Ontario/Lakeshore Catholic
Courtney Lisman	Grove City	GK	Sr.	Mars, Pa./Mars
Rilyn Warner	Saint Vincent	GK	Fr.	Granville, Ohio/Watkins Memorial