Greenville, S.C. – Furman women's soccer standouts Nieva Gaither, Tara Katz, and Miya Poplin earned All-Southern Conference honors while Reese DeJong and Sarah Sexton were named to the SoCon All-Freshman squad, it was announced on Thursday afternoon.
 
Gaither and Poplin each garnered All-SoCon honors for the fourth time in their careers. The first team nod was the third for Gaither and second for Poplin. Despite battling injuries, Gaither totaled four goals in 13 matches from the Paladin midfield as a fifth-year senior. Poplin overcame early-season injuries to anchor a defense that helped the Paladins to a 5-2-2 mark in conference play and No. 3 seed in this week's SoCon Women's Soccer Championship. Katz, a graduate transfer from the University of Tennessee, captured second team all-league honors after pacing Furman with six goals and sharing the league lead with four match-winning scores in her first season in purple and white.
 
DeJong went 8-4-2 in goal and recorded three shutouts during the regular season. Sexton earned playing time in the Paladin midfield in all 18 matches as a freshman and netted her first career goal at South Carolina.
 
The Paladins 9-6-3 overall and 5-2-2 in the league, kickoff their SoCon quarterfinal versus ETSU at 8 p.m. ET on Friday at Samford's Shauna Yelton Field in Birmingham, Ala. The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live statistics will be available at FurmanPaladins.com.
 
Friday's winner advances to face either No. 2 seed Samford or No. 7 seed UNC Greensboro in Sunday's semifinal round. The championship match is set for the following weekend at the highest remaining seed.
 
Furman claimed a 1-0 victory over ETSU in the regular season meeting between the schools on October 13, in Johnson City, Tenn., on a goal by Gaither. The Paladins hold a 17-2-1 lead in 20 previous meetings versus the Bucs, including a 2-0-0 mark against ETSU in the SoCon Tournament.
 
2024 Women's Soccer All-Conference Team
  
Player of the Year – Larkin Thomason, So., F, Mercer
Defensive Player of the Year – Ava Robitaille, Jr., M, Western Carolina
Coach of the Year – Chad Miller, Western Carolina 
Freshman of the Year – Merle Greulich, F, UNCG
 
First Team
F – Larkin Thomason, Mercer 
F – Isabella DeMarco, Western Carolina
F – Milla Syska, Western Carolina
M – Nieva Gaither, Furman
M – Whitaker Buchanan, Samford
M – Naya Marcil, Western Carolina
M – Ava Robitaille, Western Carolina
D – Miya Poplin, Furman
D – Ella Simpson, Samford
D – Becca Campbell, Western Carolina
GK – Leanne Trudel, Western Carolina
 
Second Team
F – Tara Katz, Furman
F – Jada Moorman, Mercer 
F – Layton Glisson, Samford
F – Caroline Richvalsky, Chattanooga
M – Kendall Cook, Mercer
M – Sara Engels, Mercer
M – Rachel Poplin, UNCG
D – Madi Hook, ETSU
D – Lena Dykes, Mercer
D – Brenna Swiger, Chattanooga
GK – Ashton Blair, ETSU

All-Freshman Team
Charlotte Seay, The Citadel
Jada Cooper, ETSU 
Reese DeJong, Furman
Sarah Sexton, Furman
Maggie Rollins, Mercer
Merle Greulich, UNCG       
Alex Parr, Samford
EG Dillard, Chattanooga
Sophia Mize, Chattanooga
Malia Roberts, Western Carolina
Kate Markey, Wofford