Big South Announces 2025 Women's Soccer Annual Awards
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – USC Upstate’s
Riley O’Bryan (Louisville, Ky.) and Radford’s
Lilly Short (Georgetown, Del.) have been voted the 2025 Big South Women’s Soccer Forward of the Year and Midfielder of the Year, respectively, by the conference’s head coaches, it was announced today by the league office. Gardner-Webb goalie
Savannah Dixon (Raleigh, N.C.) was voted the Goalkeeper of the Year, while Radford’s
Amani Green (Baltimore, Md.) was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Year and the Newcomer of the Year. Longwood forward
Sam Fischer (Charlottesville, Va.) earned Freshman of the Year, while the
Radford Coaching Staff was voted Coaching Staff of the Year. The Big South’s athletic communicators voted Longwood goalie
Sara Curtis (Apex, N.C.) the Women’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
O’Bryan is the first Big South Forward of the Year and the third consecutive USC Upstate player to win a major all-conference offensive award. A Big South Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 29, the sophomore ranked second in the league with seven goals and third with 16 points. She scored the second-most goals in conference play with five, including one game-winner, and added one of her two assists for a 1.38 points-per-game average against league opponents, also second best. The Louisville, Ky., native recorded her first career brace in a 2-0 win over High Point on Sept. 24 and closed the regular season with at least one goal or assist in seven of USC Upstate’s final 11 matches, including one of each in a win over South Carolina State. She joins teammate
Dara Russo as the second USC Upstate sophomore to earn the league’s top offensive award in the past three seasons.
Short is the first Radford player voted Big South Midfielder of the Year and the second honoree overall. A Big South Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 20, she led the conference with 20 points on a league-high nine goals and two assists. The 2025 Big South Preseason Midfielder of the Year, she paced all players in conference play with 14 points on seven goals—two more than the next-leading scorer—with four game-winners. The Georgetown, Del., native scored five goals over the final four games, and her nine regular-season goals are the most by a Radford player since Kat Parris’ 13 in 2021. Short led the Big South in goals, points, shots (51) and shots on goal (27), and tied for the league high in game-winners.
Dixon is the first Gardner-Webb player voted Big South Goalkeeper of the Year since the award’s inception in 2021. The senior, in her first season as a starter, led the conference in saves (102) and saves per game (6.00) overall, and paced Big South play with 52 saves, 6.50 saves per game and five shutouts, including five straight. She helped Gardner-Webb reach its first Big South Tournament since 2022 and tie for fourth in the final standings. The Raleigh, N.C., native earned Big South Defensive Player of the Week four times, made a career-best 17 starts and played over 1,500 minutes with a .791 save percentage. In Big South play, she made 11 saves, including a second-half penalty stop in a 1-0 win at defending champion USC Upstate, and set a career high with 13 saves in the regular-season finale against Radford.
Green is the fifth Radford player in the past seven seasons voted Big South Defensive Player of the Year and the first since 2023. She is also the first Radford player voted Newcomer of the Year since the award began in 2023 and the first defender to earn it. The senior anchored a backline that recorded six shutouts overall and five in Big South play—tied for the league high—including the final two games. She converted both penalty kicks into goals, and her three goals tied for most among conference defenders. The Baltimore, Md., native led her team in shots-on-goal percentage at .800 among players with at least 500 minutes.
Fischer is the third Longwood player to earn Big South Freshman of the Year and the first since 2017. A Big South Offensive Player of the Week in the season’s opening week and two-time Freshman of the Week, her seven goals tied for second in the conference, while her 16 points also tied for second highest. She tied for third with three game-winning goals, two in conference play among her three total in Big South games. The Charlottesville, Va., native opened her career with four goals in three matches, including at least one in each of the first three, capped by her first brace in an in-state win over VMI. She outscored the next-closest freshman by four goals and nine points while leading Longwood in both categories.
Led by Head Coach
Ben Sohrabi, the Radford coaching staff is the second to be voted Big South Coaching Staff of the Year, an award that previously recognized head coaches only through 2023. Joined by Assistant Coach
Brandon Slewa, The duo guided Radford to its second Big South regular-season championship in three seasons and seventh overall, finishing 10-4-1 overall and 7-1 in conference play to earn the No. 1 seed in the Big South Tournament. It marked Radford’s first seven-win league season since 2019, when teams played 10 conference matches compared to eight in 2025. The Highlanders extended their streak of top-four regular-season finishes to four, and it is the 17th time Sohrabi has led Radford to 10 or more wins.
Curtis is Longwood’s first Scholar-Athlete of the Year since 2020-21 and fourth overall. The graduate student holds a 4.0 GPA in her master’s in business administration after earning a 4.0 undergraduate GPA in sociology. The 2024 Big South Goalkeeper of the Year and 2025 Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year led the conference with a 1.069 goals-against average and six shutouts in 17 matches. A Second-Team All-Conference selection, she posted a 0.75 GAA with four shutouts in league play, second most among conference goalkeepers. She finished with a .778 save percentage overall and .813 against Big South opponents.
The league also announced the 2025 All-Conference and All-Academic teams on Friday, 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 athletic communicators.
2025 Big South Conference Women’s Soccer Award Winners
First-Team All-Conference
F – Riley O’Bryan, Soph., USC Upstate
F – Dara Russo, Sr., USC Upstate
F – Jenéa Knight, R-Sr., Charleston Southern
F – Sam Fischer, Fr., Longwood
MF – Lilly Short, Sr., Radford
MF – Paige Armstrong, Sr., USC Upstate
MF – Monssi Avila-Gutierrez, Jr., Winthrop
MF – Bella Burr, R-Soph., High Point
D – Amani Green, Jr., Radford
D – Sydney Robertson, Sr., Longwood
D – Jill Silverstone, Sr., Radford
D – Catarina Dantas, Sr., USC Upstate
GK – Savannah Dixon, R-Jr., Gardner-Webb
Second-Team All-Conference
F – Paige Olson, Sr., Radford
F – Jashyra Johnson, Jr., Radford
F – Sedona Dancu, Gr., Charleston Southern
F – Sloan Spees, Jr., Presbyterian
MF – Meghan Piazza, Jr., Longwood
MF – Ary Oliver, Fr., Radford
MF – Lindsey Malyszek, Sr., Presbyterian
MF – Jessica Boyle, Sr., Charleston Southern
D – Camila Lezcano, Sr., Gardner-Webb
D – Savannah Noll, Sr., USC Upstate
D – Cadance Bell, Soph., Charleston Southern
D – Kasey Resker, Soph., High Point
GK – Sara Curtis, Gr., Longwood
Honorable Mention All-Conference
Sabba Haghgoo, F, Soph., High Point
Akari Kishida, MF, Sr., UNC Asheville
Lexi Radvanyi, GK, Jr., Radford
Hannah Johnson, MF, R-Soph., USC Upstate
Shae Hassig, D, Sr., UNC Asheville
All-Freshman Team
Sam Fischer, F, Fr., Longwood
Aryana Oliver, MF, Fr., Radford
Caroline Simpkins, F, R-Fr., USC Upstate
Lyndsay Sheets, F, Fr., Winthrop
Joellie Giquinto, D, Fr., High Point
Sarah Birchall, D, Fr., Gardner-Webb
Rowyn Serne, MF, Fr., Charleston Southern
All-Academic Team
Amélie Boyle, D, Soph., Charleston Southern
Peyton Bryant, D, R-Jr., Gardner-Webb
Bella Burr, MF, R-Soph., High Point
Sara Curtis, GK, Gr., Longwood
Lindsey Malyszek, MF, Sr., Presbyterian College
Ashley Loundermon, MF, Sr., Radford
Shae Hassig, D, Sr., UNC Asheville
Savannah Noll, D, Sr., USC Upstate
Reagan Goodwyn, D, Jr., Winthrop
Forward of the Year
Riley O’Bryan, Soph., USC Upstate
Midfielder of the Year
Lilly Short, Sr., Radford
Goalkeeper of the Year
Savannah Dixon, R-Jr., Gardner-Webb
Defender of the Year
Amani Green, Sr., Radford
Freshman of the Year
Sam Fischer, F, Fr., Longwood
Newcomer of the Year
Amani Green, D, Sr., Radford
Coaching Staff of the Year
Radford
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Sara Curtis, GK, Gr., Longwood