Big South Announces 2024 Women's Soccer Annual Awards
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – USC Upstate forward
Dara Russo (Miamisburg, Ohio) and teammate
Margret Edda Bjarnadottir (Vesturbær, Iceland) have been voted the 2024 Big South Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year, respectively, by the conference’s head coaches, it was announced today by the league office. Longwood goalie
Sara Curtis (Apex, N.C.) was voted the Goalkeeper of the Year, while High Point’s
Alex DePerno (Apex, N.C.) was tabbed Defensive Player of the Year. High Point forward
Sabba Haghgoo (Crofton, Md.) was voted Freshman of the Year, while teammate and goalkeeper
Aubrey McKessy (Canyon Country, Calif.) earned Newcomer of the Year. The
USC Upstate Coaching Staff was voted Coaching Staff of the Year, and the Big South’s sports information directors voted High Point’s
Tessa Carlin (Winnipeg, Canada) the Women’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Russo becomes the second student-athlete to earn back-to-back Big South Offensive Player of the Year honors and the first since the 2012-13 seasons. A two-time Big South Offensive Player of the Week, Russo led the Big South with 19 points, scoring nine goals and contributing five assists. The Big South Freshman of the Year in 2022, she became USC Upstate’s Division I era career leader for goals (28) and points (64) during the season while leading the Spartans to their first Big South Women’s Soccer Regular Season Championship in program history. Russo opened the year with a brace versus Queens, the first of six multi-point performances and her first off three game-winning goals, a league-high. Her remaining game-winners came against VMI and in conference play against High Point, while she also assisted on the game-winner versus UNC Asheville. Russo received four first-place votes and 17 points in the Offensive Player of the Year voting, ahead of High Point’s
Sabba Haghgoo (13 points, two first-place votes) and Radford’s
Eileen Albers (13 points, two first-place votes).
Bjarnadottir is the inaugural Big South Midfielder of the Year after the conference added the honor for the 2024 season. A Big South Offensive Player of the Week for the final week of the regular season, Bjarnadottir tied for second in the league in total assists (5), while she scored seven of her nine points and notched three of her five assists in Big South play. The Vesturbær, Iceland native proved the catalyst for USC Upstate capturing the 2024 Big South Conference Regular Season Championship during the season’s final week with her first career multi-goal match versus Charleston Southern, including the match-winner, along with an assist on the equalizer versus Gardner-Webb. A junior, she also became USC Upstate’s Division I era career leader for assists (13) during the season. Bjarnadottir earned 18 points and three first-place votes in the Midfielder of the Year balloting, ahead of High Point’s
Tessa Carlin (16 points, 4 first-place votes) and Radford’s
Lilly Short (14 points, 2 first-place votes).
Curtis is the first Lancer voted Big South Goalkeeper of the Year since the league added the award in 2021. Playing her best soccer down the stretch, Curtis posted five shutouts on the season, including four consecutive shutouts in Longwood’s final four games to clinch a home postseason game for the first time since 2021. A senior, she ranked second in the Big South with a 0.75 goals-against average across eight conference games, and her 0.824 save percentage ranks third in the same stretch. Curtis and the Lancers did not allow a goal in the final 373:43 of the regular season, and Longwood never surrendered more than two goals in a match during conference play. Beginning this season, the award is no longer voted on separately as the First-Team All-Conference goalkeeper automatically earns the Big South Goalkeeper of the Year award.
DePerno is the first High Point player voted Big South Defensive Player of the Year in team history. The fifth-year defender started and played in every game (17) while leading the Panthers in minutes (1,497), and she was a vital piece in HPU leading the Big South in shutouts (8) and goals allowed (1.06) per game. A native of Apex, N.C., DePerno had a conference second-best five assists as she recorded an assist hat trick in the regular-season finale against UNC Asheville. In that same game, the team captain became the new Big South career leader in minutes (7,464) as she broke the previous record held by Liberty’s Brittany Aanderud (7,414 minutes) from 2012-2015. DePerno received 15 points and two first-place votes, edging out Radford’s
Helena Willson (14 points, 3 first-place votes) and USC Upstate’s
Catarina Dantas (13 points, 2 first-place votes).
Haghgoo is the fourth Panther in the past seven seasons to be voted Big South Freshman of the Year and the first since 2020-21. Of her six goals, five came within Big South play to lead the league in goals (5), points (10) and game-winning goals (3) during the conference season. Haghgoo’s trio of game-winning goals came against Winthrop, Presbyterian and Charleston Southern, while the other two were versus Gardner-Webb and UNC Asheville. Her first career goal came against West Georgia in August to jumpstart an impressive rookie campaign. A starter in 11 of her 17 appearances, the Crofton, Md. native started in 11 of her 17 appearances while logging 899 minutes. Haghgoo collected eight first-place votes and 24 points, ahead of UNC Asheville’s
Mercedes McNabb (13 points) and Charleston Southern’s
Danika Birch (11 points, 1 first-place vote).
McKessy becomes the second consecutive Panther to earn Big South Newcomer of the Year accolades. In 15 starts, McKessy established herself as a league leader in shutouts (8) and goals against average (.873). A transfer from Division II Cal State University Monterey Bay, McKessy was instrumental in goal with 39 saves in 122 shots faced and only 13 goals allowed. McKessy’s first shutout came against West Georgia (Aug. 29) in her second start, and the Californian didn’t stop there, helping the Panthers win the most games since 2021 as she compiled an 8-4-3 record in 1,350 minutes. McKessy tallied seven first-place votes, ahead of USC Upstate’s
Palina Jordan (2 first-place votes).
Led by Head Coach
Sharif Saber, the USC Upstate coaching staff is the first to be voted Big South Coaching Staff of the Year, an award that previously recognized head coaches only. Joined by Assistant Coach
Mark Laudenslager and Graduate Assistant
Toni Brem, the trio led USC Upstate to its first Big South Conference Regular Season Championship, the program’s first conference regular season championship of its Division I era and first since 2001 (Peach Belt). The Spartans extended their streak of eight-plus win seasons to three, the longest in program history, and extended the program's streak of seasons with five-plus conference wins to three, also the longest in program history. The USC Upstate coaching staff received six first-place votes and 22 points, ahead of the staffs of UNC Asheville (12 points, 3 first-place votes) and High Point (12 points).
Carlin is High Point’s first Scholar-Athlete of the Year honoree since 2016 and seventh overall. She carries a 4.0 GPA while working on her master’s in biomedical sciences. Named Big South Newcomer of the Year in 2023, Carlin finished second on the team with three goals (one game-winning goal) and one assist for seven points. A Big South Offensive Player of the Week once this season, she started and played in all 17 games of the regular season.
The league also announced the 2024 All-Conference and All-Academic teams on Thursday, which are listed below. The All-Conference team is voted by the head coaches and features four forwards, four midfielders, four defenders and one goalkeeper on the first and second teams, followed by a five-person honorable mention squad regardless of position. A seven-member All-Freshman Team (regardless of position) is also recognized. The All-Academic Team consists of one student-athlete from each institution who meets the criteria and is nominated and selected by the Big South’s sports information directors.
2024 Big South Conference Women’s Soccer Award Winners
First-Team All-Conference
F – Dara Russo, Jr., USC Upstate
F – Sabba Haghgoo, Fr., High Point
F – Nya Baccelli, Sr., USC Upstate
F – Eileen Albers, Soph., Radford
MF – Margret Edda Bjarnadottir, Jr., USC Upstate
MF – Lilly Short, Jr., Radford
MF – Tessa Carlin, Gr., High Point
MF – Daniela Contreras, Sr., Charleston Southern
D – Alex DePerno, Gr., High Point
D – Helena Willson, Gr., Radford
D – Catarina Dantas, Jr., USC Upstate
D – Sydney Robertson, Jr., Longwood
GK – Sara Curtis, Sr., Longwood
Second-Team All-Conference
F – Paige Olson, Jr., Radford
F – Jenéa Knight, Sr., Charleston Southern
F – Mercedes McNabb, Fr., UNC Asheville
F – Sloan Spees, Jr., Presbyterian
MF – Paige Armstrong, Jr., USC Upstate
MF – Ella Williams, Jr., Presbyterian
MF – Alex Dinger, Gr., Longwood
MF – Lindsey DeHaven, Sr., High Point
D – Anna Doane, Sr., UNC Asheville
D – Lea Gossett, Sr., Gardner-Webb
D – Emily Rangel, Jr., USC Upstate
D – Gwen Keiser, Sr., Presbyterian
GK – Aubrey McKessy, Gr., High Point
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Kelly Hall, GK, Sr., Presbyterian
Jill Silverstone, D, Jr., Radford
Ava Bjorkman-Tracy, MF, Sr., UNC Asheville
Meg Roden, MF, Soph., High Point
Danika Birch, MF, Fr., Charleston Southern
All-Freshman Team
Sabba Haghgoo, F, Fr., High Point
Mercedes McNabb, F, Fr., UNC Asheville
Danika Birch, MF, Fr., Charleston Southern
Berni Wayland, D, Fr., Longwood
Riley O’Bryan, MF, Fr., USC Upstate
Kari Powell, MF, R-Fr., High Point
Cassidy Oldham, D, Fr., Presbyterian
All-Academic Team
Gracen Beilstein, MF, Sr., Charleston Southern
Livi Tanzer, F, Sr., Gardner-Webb
Tessa Carlin, MF, Gr., High Point
Sara Curtis, GK, Sr., Longwood
Kelly Hall, GK, Sr., Presbyterian College
Ava Kertgate, MF/F, Soph., Radford
Ava Bjorkman-Tracy, MF, Sr., UNC Asheville
Kiley Johnson, D, Soph., USC Upstate
Lily Meisten, D, Sr., Winthrop
Offensive Player of the Year
Dara Russo, F, Jr, USC Upstate
Midfielder of the Year
Margret Edda Bjarnadottir, Jr., USC Upstate
Goalkeeper of the Year
Sara Curtis, Sr., Longwood
Defensive Player of the Year
Alex DePerno, D, Gr., High Point
Freshman of the Year
Sabba Haghgoo, F, Fr., High Point
Newcomer of the Year
Aubrey McKessy, GK, Gr., High Point
Coaching Staff of the Year
USC Upstate
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Tessa Carlin, MF, Gr., High Point