BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – The Mountain East Conference released its 2022 Women's Soccer All-Conference selections on Tuesday morning. Eight West Virginia State players were named on the shortlist including graduate forward Fran Soares-Cupertino who received the prestigious MEC Offensive Player of the Year award.

Soares-Cupertino was named to the All-MEC First Team in addition to being named the 2022 MEC Offensive Player of the Year. She led the conference in goals (16), assists (10), and points (42) this season and scored the second-most game-winning goals with five on the year. Last year, she earned All-MEC Second Team honors in addition to a Second Team All-Region nod.

Senior Esther Dhiramo and graduate student  Brooklyn Pritt were both named to the All-MEC First Team. Dhiramo tied for the fourth-highest goal tally in the league with 10 while Pritt tied for the third-most assists in the conference with six on the season. Dhiramo also supplied five assists and two game-winners in 15 games played. Meanwhile, Pritt scored seven goals along with one game-winner as 1-of-2 Yellow Jackets to start all 18 matches this year.  

The other player that started all 18 games this season was All-MEC Second Team honoree Laura Galindo. The sophomore goalkeeper averaged the second-most shutouts per game in the MEC with six in 18 matches (.333) and recorded the second-best save percentage (.837) in the league. Additionally, her goals against average rate (.824) was the third-best mark in the conference.

Fellow sophomore Maxima Bellscheidt and senior Ingrid Barbosa de Castro also made the All-MEC Second Team. The pair of defenders helped the Yellow Jackets to average less than one goal allowed per game with only 15 goals allowed through 18 contests. On only two occasions did the WVSU defensive unit concede more than one goal in a game all year long. 

Junior midfielder Paula Herold was also listed on the All-MEC Second Team for her long-range shooting prowess and free kick taking abilities. Herold scored four times from her midfield position and assisted on three more goals this season. Her shots and free kicks taken from 20 or more yards out threatened goalkeepers throughout the season.

Attacking midfielder Maria Amaral earned a spot on the 2022 All-MEC Freshman Team with two goals and two assists in only 407 minutes played this year. She played in eight matches with five starts during the 2022 regular season and made the most of every minute on the pitch. Amaral surely has a bright future ahead on this talented West Virginia State squad.

Head Coach Lisa Mann has now led WVSU to back-to-back appearances in the Mountain East Conference Tournament. In just the second full season of the women's soccer program's short history, West Virginia State added its first trophy to the cabinet as MEC South Division Champions. The nationally-ranked Yellow Jackets will host Davis & Elkins tonight at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals of the 2022 MEC Tournament.