Just four days after capping off the season with senior night celebrations and a 5-0 win over Pacific, the Cougar women got more good news Wednesday as six players earned West Coast Conference All-Conference honors.
Seniors and co-captains Grayson Lynch and Reese Tappan highlighted the Cougs’ selections with each being named to the All-WCC First Team. Senior goalkeeper Nadia Cooper earned Second Team honors while forward Kendall Campbell made the Freshman Team.
WSU forward Grayson Lynch dribbles downfield during an NCAA women’s soccer match against Denver, Sep. 4, at Lower Soccer Field.
Midfielders Megan Santa Cruz and Reagan Kotschau were also listed as All-Conference honorable mentions in the WCC’s awards announcement.
Lynch finished a historic career at WSU with one goal and three assists against Pacific and placements in multiple top-10 lists in the school record books. In 2024 Lynch returned from a season-ending knee injury and tallied four goals and five assists while serving as a leader for a team sporting a young attacking front and midfield. Lynch finished second in program history in matches played with 97, sitting just one shy of tying the record.
On the back line of the Coug formation was Tappan who played an important role in the Cougs’ eight shutouts along with seniors Cooper and Jenna Studer. Tappan had two goals and three assists this season and started all nineteen games. Tappan did not miss a single minute of playing time the entire season.
The centerpiece of the WSU defense, Cooper, is no stranger to conference honors. In 2021, she earned Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year and Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. This season was also a success, being credited for seven of those eight shutouts and earning two WCC Defensive Player of the Week awards. She led the conference in shutouts and finished fourth in goals against average at 1.08. Cooper finished in the top five of career shutouts, wins and minutes for WSU, to go along with sixth place in career saves with 217.
The award for Campbell represents the up-and-coming side of the team, being amongst the younger players who will have to replace ten graduating players following the 2024 season. Campbell earned the freshman honors in a season where she scored four goals, two of which were game-winners, as well as an assist. Campbell appeared in 19 games and started in just six, but managed to be the team’s third leading scorer.
Rounding out the awards for WSU soccer were the honorable mentions for midfielders Santa Cruz and Kotschau, a pair of sophomores making up the other two non-seniors honored by the conference. Santa Cruz and Kotschau combined for a total of 19 points on the season and they were the first and second (Santa Cruz tied with Lynch for second) assist leaders on the team.
WSU midfielder Megan Santa Cruz dribbles through Weber State’s defense during an NCAA soccer game, Aug. 27, 2023, in Pullman, Wash.
Santa Cruz was very active for the Cougs after an All-Freshman season last year, starting all 19 games in 2024 and attempting a team-leading 50 shots which was 16 more than the next closest Coug. Kotschau, who was named to the All-WCC preseason team, also came off an All-Freshman season and started all 19 games this year. Kotschau’s six assists this year were enough to tie for second in the WCC.
The Cougs doubled their conference honors from last season in the Pac-12 and saw four new players be awarded. The Cougs finished fourth place in the WCC at 8-5-6 and were ranked No. 100 in the final regular season RPI rankings.
