IRVING, Texas – The American Athletic Conference has announced the winners of its 2023 women’s soccer honors, as chosen by the league’s head coaches.
 
West Division champion Memphis took home six individual award winners, including fifth-year forward Mya Jones, who was unanimously selected as the Offensive Player of the Year. Senior defender Haylee Spray and East Carolina sophomore defender Jazmin Ferguson were selected as the Defensive Players of the Year, while Tiger forward Anna Hauer and SMU forward Nyah Rose earned the Rookie of the Year honors. Memphis juniors Momo Nakao and Kaylie Bierman were honored as the Midfielder and Goalkeeper of the Year, respectively, and the Tiger coaching staff, led by Brooks Monaghan, was picked as the Coaching Staff of the Year. Florida Atlantic earned the Team Fair Play Award.
 
Jones, a four-time All-Conference First Team selection, leads The American with 28 points on nine goals and a league-leading 10 assists. Jones, who was the 2020 Midfielder of the Year, is the second Tiger to be named Offensive Player of the Year, joining Clarissa Larisey in 2019.
 
Spray, Bierman and the Tiger defense rank first in the nation with a goals-against average of 0.31 and a shutout percentage of 75.0 percent. Bierman is ninth individually in the nation in save percentage at 88.2 percent, while the team as a whole is second at 89.8 percent. It is the first Defensive Player of the Year honor for Memphis since Olivia Gauthier in 2018 and first Goalkeeper of the Year honor since Elizabeth Moberg in 2019.
 
Ferguson, who was named The American’s Rookie of the Year last season, led the Pirate defense to an 0.83 GAA on the season and four shutouts in conference play.
 
Nakao, a 2022 Second-Team All-Conference honoree, has five goals and four assists on the season, including three game-winning goals. She is the third Tiger to earn Midfielder of the Year, joining Jones (2020) and Kylie Davis (2014).
 
Hauer has seven goals and three assists on the season, and had a stretch where she recorded the game-winning goal in three of four matches. Rose is third in The American with 19 points, including nine goals and one assist. Hauer is the fourth Tiger to be named Rookie of the Year and first since Grace Stordy in 2019, while Rose is the third Mustang to be honored, joining Courtney Sebazco (2018) and Claire Oates (2014).
 
Monaghan and the Tiger coaching staff have led Memphis to the longest active win streak in the nation at 12 with the next closest being eight by Saint Louis and Brown. The Tigers allowed one goal on the way to a perfect 9-0-0 record in conference play, the first time a team has completed American play without a loss or a draw. It is Memphis’ second time earning Coaching Staff of the Year (2019).
 
Florida Atlantic earned the Team Fair Play Award for having the least amount of fouls, yellow cards and red cards during conference play.
 
Memphis led the way with a conference-record six student-athletes on the All-Conference First Team, breaking the previous record of five, set by South Florida in 2020.
 
2023 American Women’s Soccer Honors
 
Offensive Player of the Year
Mya Jones, 5^th, F, Memphis*
 
Defensive Player of the Year
Jazmin Ferguson, So., D, East Carolina
Haylee Spray, Sr., D, Memphis
 
Midfielder of the Year
Momo Nakao, Jr., Memphis
 
Goalkeeper of the Year
Kaylie Bierman, Jr., Memphis
 
Rookie of the Year
Anna Hauer, F, Memphis
Nyah Rose, F, SMU
 
Coaching Staff of the Year
Memphis – Head Coach Brooks Monaghan, Associate Head Coach Jonny Walker, Associate Head Coach Jordan Darling and Assistant Coach Ted Bartels
 
Team Fair Play Award
Florida Atlantic
 
All-Conference First Team
Tash Hudson, Sr., F, Charlotte
Jazmin Ferguson, So., D, East Carolina
Kaylie Bierman, Jr., GK, Memphis
Mya Jones, 5^th, F, Memphis*
Saorla Miller, 5^th, F, Memphis
Momo Nakao, Jr., M, Memphis
Haylee Spray, Sr., D, Memphis
Grace Stordy, Sr., D, Memphis
Gentiana Fetaj, So., M, South Florida
Nyah Rose, Fr., F, SMU
Jordan Frederick, So., F, Tulsa
 
All-Conference Second Team
Asha Zuniga, 5^th, D, UAB
Payton Patrick, Jr., F, Charlotte
Annabelle Abbott, Sr., M, East Carolina
Maeve English, Sr., GK, East Carolina
Jodi Smith, Jr., D, Florida Atlantic
Anna Hauer, Fr., F, Memphis
Bailey Wesco, Jr., F, North Texas
Vivianne Bessette, Jr., D, South Florida
Georgia Brown, Jr., D, South Florida
Peyton Annen, So., D, SMU
Kaylyn Simmons, Fr., M/F, Tulsa
 
All-Rookie Team
Abby Graeser, D, UAB
Lucy Fazackerley, D, East Carolina*
Olivia Bori, M/F, Florida Atlantic
Honoka Hamano, M, Memphis
Anna Hauer, F, Memphis*
Finley Lavin, D, Memphis
Mia Bernard, M, North Texas
Emma Alvord, F, SMU
Nyah Rose, F, SMU
Jasmine Kessler, GK, UTSA
Kaylyn Simmons, M/F, Tulsa
Piper Szafranski, M, Tulsa
 
* denotes unanimous selection