INDIANAPOLIS – The Maryville women's soccer team is already raking in the hardware, capturing four of the five possible Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) major postseason honors. Elsa Nilson-Hurtig, Lotte Brands, Agnes Vilen and Head Coach Lori Lawson were the quartet of Saints to garner the conference awards, marking the first time in program history the team has earned more than two GLVC accolades, surpassing the previous highest-total of two from the 2023 season.
 
Nilson-Hurtig was named Co-Offensive Player of the Year, Brands earned Defensive Player of the Year and Vilen claimed Goalkeeper of the Year. Lawson, for the second time in as many years, was dubbed Coach of the Year by her peers, making her the first ever multi-time GLVC Coach of the Year in program history.
 
Alongside Nilson-Hurtig, Brand and Vilen, the Saints tallied five more All-GLVC selections. Ulrika Bredin and Lexi Gentry joined the award winners on the All-GLVC First Team while Tori Calvert, Maddie Dickerman and Ashlyne Hunt appear on the All-GLVC Second Team.
 
Nika Vemdal earns the Saints James R. Spalding Sportsmanship honors for the 2024 season.
 
The All-Conference awards are nominated and voted on by league coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws, are not permitted to vote for their own players.
 
NILSON-HURTIG – CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
The Maryville Saints can claim ownership of the GLVC Offensive Player of the Year for yet another season as Nilson-Hurtig goes back-to-back with Lexi Gentry from the 2023 year. Her year was decorated with offensive brilliance, leading the league in assists per game (.529), while finishing second in both total assists and points per game. Nilson-Hurtig's ten goals landed her third in the GLVC in goals and goals per game, registering three game winners on just 58 shots before postseason play. She becomes a two-time All-GLVC member with her first selection to the first team in 2024. She shares the award with Rockhurst's Junior Forward, Anna Lantz.
 
BRANDS – GLVC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
History has been made as Brands was selected as Maryville's first-ever GLVC Defensive Player of the Year. The senior registered 1,281 minutes on the Saints' back line, anchoring the best defense in the GLVC that limited opponents to just three goals over their 14 GLVC bouts. Brands shutdown defense was a major part of the Saints ability to limit opposing offensive chances, limited foes to just 6.3 shots per game. For her performance she has also been named to the All-GLVC First Team for the third time of her career.
 
VILEN – GLVC GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR
Freshman goalkeeper Vilen made a significant impact in her first season with the Saints. She becomes the first-ever GLVC Goalkeeper of the Year for Maryville and marks the first ever Saint to earn a non-freshman major award. Starting every single game for the Saints, Vilen earned 13 shutouts while leading the GLVC in goals against, goals against average and save percentage. She was also tabbed to the All-GLVC First Team, the only freshman to grace the First Team.
 
LAWSON – GLVC COACH OF THE YEAR
It's back-to-back GLVC Coach of the Year honors for Lawson as she led the Saints to a GLVC Regular Season title as well as the No. 1 seed in the GLVC Championship tournament. Lawson's Saints averaged 3.06 goals per game up to this point in the season, out scoring teams 52-5. Her squad ended the regular season unbeaten, going 14-0-2 with a 13-0-1 GLVC mark.
 
VEMDAL – JAMES R. SPALDING SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD
Senior forward Vemdal was selected as the James R. Spalding Sportsmanship Honoree for the Saints. Student-athletes chosen for this award are those who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These individuals must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports competition setting. Vemdal is now eligible to become one of Maryville's two Spalding Sportsmanship Award winners, which will be announced at the end of the academic year.
 
ALL-GLVC
For Gentry, the All-GLVC list is a comfortable place as it's her fifth career appearance on the list, with her third consecutive appearance among the first teamers. Gentry started all 16 regular season contests in the midfield for the Saints, finishing with 15 points on three goals and nine assists, tossing in a game-winning goal as well.
 
Bredin, a major component to the Saints elite-defense, elevated to a new level this season, earning her first-career first team honors and her third all-conference award. Bredin tallied 9 points in the regular season, scoring four goals. She also tallied a key assist on the Saints' game-winning goal in the GLVC quarter-final victory over Truman State.
 
Calvert, Dickerman and Hunt all appear on the second team. Calvert's year saw quality midfield action, scoring three goals with four assists. Dickerman was a key piece for the Saints defense, earning her second consecutive All-GLVC nod. Dickerman kept that going in the GLVC quarterfinals, assisting on the game-winning goal. That goal was scored by Hunt who rounded out the Saints on the second team. Hunt finished the regular season with ten goals across her 16 games of action, including a hat-trick versus William Jewell on Sept. 22. Hunt was also the Saints game-ender this season, leading the team with five game-winning goals, six after her GLVC quarterfinal dagger versus Truman State. She currently sits second in program history for single-season game winners, just two away from tying for first place.  
 
COMPLETE ALL-GLVC LIST
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Elsa Nilson-Hurtig, F, Jr., Maryville 
CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Anna Lantz, F, Jr., Rockhurst 
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Lotte Brands, D, Sr., Maryville 
GOALKEEPER OF THE YEAR: Agnes Vilen, Fr., Maryville 
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Maddie Mauch, F, McKendree 
COACH OF THE YEAR: Lori Lawson, Maryville 
  

FIRST TEAM  Andrea Camargo, D, Sr., DU   Kourtney Tucker, MF, Sr., DU   Katelynn Ward, F, Jr., UIS   Lotte Brands, D, Sr., MU   Ulrika Bredin, D, Sr., MU   Lexi Gentry, MF, Gr., MU   Elsa Nilson-Hurtig, F, Jr., MU   Agnes Vilen, GK, Fr., MU   Anna Stiffler, F, 5th, MCK   Kayley Judy, MF, Sr., UMSL   Anna Lantz, F, Jr., RU

SECOND TEAM  Audrey Camargo, D, Sr., DU   Katy Fitzler, GK, So., DU   Holland Hawkins, F, Jr., DU   Elena Perez, MF, Jr., DU   Tori Calvert, MF, Sr., MU   Maddie Dickerman, D, Gr., MU Ashlyne Hunt, F, R-Jr., MU   Maggie Gleckler, MF, So, MCK   Katie Spotanski, MF, 5th, MCK   Jaycee Cotton, D, Sr., UMSL   Jada Holloman, F, Sr., UMSL

THIRD TEAM  Ines Villanueva Casal, MF, Sr., DU Brooke Biffar, D, Sr., UIS   Allison Mirimanian, GK, Sr., UIS   Zy'Aire Parker, D, Jr., UINDY   Mia Winters, F, So., UINDY   Breanna Culver, F, Jr., LEWIS   Lena Higgins, F, Sr., MCK   Maria Voss, D, Sr., MCK   Patti Ehrnman, D, Sr., RU   Gabby Hennessy, MF, Gr., RU   Lizzo Rosenthal, MF, Jr., RU