CUMBERLAND — After earning an unanimous area championship, Northern led this year’s All-Area girls soccer teams with five first-team selections.
The player awards and All-Area teams were voted on by the area coaches.
The Huskies earned two of the four player awards while Mountain Ridge won the other two.
Northern’s Emma Hostetler was named Player of the Year while her teammate Ada White earned Goalkeeper of the Year.
Mountain Ridge’s Fiona Ruddell was named Offensive Player of the Year while Reese Rizzo was the Defensive Player of the Year from the Miners.
The four award winners were featured in separate stories and automatically earned first-team All-Area selections.
The first-team All-Area consists of five Northern players, four from Mountain Ridge and two from Allegany, Hampshire and Keyser.
Hostetler and White represent Northern alongside Isabella Yoder, Ainsley McHenry-Sorber and Kaylee Bowser.
Ruddell and Rizzo join Allie Knieriem and Izzy Robison from Mountain Ridge.
Avery Miller and Myia Miller represent Allegany, Sarah Fagga and Jaleigh Dixon earned selections from Hampshire and Abby Del Signore and Hadley Courtney were selected from Keyser.
The second-team All-Area consists of two players from Northern, Mountain Ridge and Allegany while six schools earned one selection each.
Malea Fullerton and McKenzie Upole represent Northern while Taylor Lamberson and Norah Patterson were chosen from Mountain Ridge.
Elexa Mazuran and Ellena Nelson earned selections from Allegany.
Hampshire’s Nevaeh Church, Keyser’s Carlee Staggs, Fort Hill’s Nevaeh Bunbasi, Southern’s Jayden Weaver, Frankfort’s Kendall Kelly and Bishop Walsh’s Bar Cohen-Inbar round out the second-team.
Nine schools earned honorable mention All-Area selections.
The honorable mention players were Abby Nelson and Sophia Yoder from Northern, Jazmyn White of Mountain Ridge, Allegany’s Ryleigh Nelson, Colleen Hott of Hampshire, Keyser’s Ainsley Friend and Kailynn Burns, Brenly Hershberger of Fort Hill, Sydney Scott from Southern, Frankfort’s Lexy Lee and Nila Navarette, Katie Kutcher and Rachel Wharton of Bishop Walsh.
Allegany and Hampshire didn’t submit headshots for the All-Area story.
Isabella Yoder
Yoder earned her second straight first-team All-Area selection and third overall as one of the anchors of the Husky defense.
“Isabella, one of the most consistent defenders in the area for the past four years, has been a pillar of our defense,” Northern head coach Gregg Hostetler said. “As a four-year starter at sweeper, she embodied the defense’s heart and soul.”
Yoder started all 18 games for Northern and led the area’s second-best scoring defense with 16 allowed goals.
Yoder finished with three goals and an assist, tallying seven points.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure to coach B for all these years, and I firmly believe that our defensive system thrived, in large part, to her unwavering presence and leadership,” coach Hostetler said. “If I am ever asked about the ideal play of a sweeper, I’d simply show highlights of B and her exceptional play.”
Ainsley McHenry-Sorber
McHenry-Sorber led the area with 26 assists while adding 10 goals for 46 points.
“Her exceptional soccer IQ and remarkable ability to strategize on the field were instrumental in initiating many of our attacks,” coach Hostetler said. “I can’t emphasize enough the significance of Ainsley’s contributions to our offensive success.”
McHenry-Sorber made her All-Area debut this season.
“She stands out as one of the best players I’ve ever had the pleasure of coaching, not only for her technical skills but also for her profound understanding of the game and her exceptional ability to read the field,” coach Hostetler said. “Ainsley was a key player in our offensive attack this year, and her impact was undeniable.”
Kaylee Bowser
Bowser was one of the area’s top defenders on one of the area’s best defensive units.
“Kaylee is a tough player who plays much bigger than her size,” coach Hostetler said. “She was a four-year starter at the stopper position for our program.”
Northern finished 14-3-1, scoring 98 goals while allowing 16.
The Huskies only allowed more than two goals in a game twice, the regular season finale against Mountain Ridge and the state semifinals against Liberty.
Those were two of the three losses on the season, the other was the season opener against North Hagerstown in a 2-0 defeat.
Bowser scored five goals with six assists, finishing with 16 points.
“When she set her mind to winning, she was very difficult to beat and would approach the game as a hard-nosed defender with something to prove,” coach Hostetler said.
Allie Knieriem
Knieriem played right wing for the Miners and finished with nine goals and eight assists.
Knieriem earned a honorable mention All-Area selection in 2023.
“She was heavily involved with our success this season with her knowledge, speed and ball placement with crosses,,” Mountain Ridge head coach Jenna Delaney said.
Izzy Robison
Robison finished her high school career with four All-Area selections.
She earned three first-team selections and an honorable mention.
Robison played the center midfield position for Mountain Ridge and scored six goals with six assists.
Robison led a Miners offense that scored 58 goals while allowing nine.
“She was the connection to every play, and the playmaker to get the ball from defense to offense,” Delaney said.
Avery Miller
Miller was the Offensive Player of the Year last season and Player of the Year in 2022.
She broke the Campers’ program record for scoring as a sophomore and finished this season with 21 goals and five assists.
Miller finishes her soccer career with 93 goals. Zayne Brakeall had the previous high mark for an Allegany player with less than half that total (46).
“Avery’s ability to score anywhere on the field made her a huge threat for us,” Allegany interim head coach Cameron O’Neal said. “Whether it was scoring a 35-yard free kick, or scoring a header from a corner kick, her talent just stands out on the soccer field.”
Miller is one of the area’s most accomplished athletes, earning first-team All-Area selections in soccer, basketball and softball in every season she’s competed in.
Her selection this year is her fourth to the first team in soccer.
She’s a 10-time state champion in track and field who had over 80 Division I schools interested before committing to Penn State.
“Her speed is second to none and in my opinion made her the best offensive threat in the area,” O’Neal said.
Myia Miller
Miller finished her high school career with three consecutive first-team All-Area selections.
“Myia’s soccer IQ and ability to put the soccer ball anywhere on the field is a huge asset to us this year,” O’Neal said.
This fall, she scored five times and added 13 assists for the Campers.
“Myia’s vision and technical skill were on display, whether it was a throw in, corner kick, or just playing a through ball on the field, she gave us a lot of scoring opportunities,” O’Neal said. “Myia controlled the midfield for us this year and her competitiveness that she plays with is fun to watch.”
Sarah Fagga
Fagga earned her first All-Area selection as a sophomore defender for the Trojans.
“I have my full trust in Sarah to defend in the back line with her speed, skills, and knowledge of the game. She spends most of her time in the off season training to become a better soccer player,” Hampshire head coach Brooke Judy said. “She has stopped 10 shots from going into the goal by supporting our goalie going out for 1v1s in the box.”
Jaleigh Dixon
Dixon earned her first All-Area selection as a senior forward for Hampshire.
Dixon was a captain this season, recording 20 goals and led the Trojans to a 11-8-3 record.
“She communicates well on the field and encouraged her teammates to be the best that they can be,” Judy said.
Abby Del Signore
Del Signore was a second-team All-Area selection last season.
The senior and four-year starter led the Golden Tornado to a 9-8-2 mark.
“She was moved to center back this year and did an outstanding job,” Keyser head coach Dan Dawson said. “She is a great leader and co-captain of the team. Abby is the coach on the field and has worked really hard with first year players.”
Hadley Courtney
Courtney was a honorable mention All-Area selection last season.
A four-year starter in goal for Keyser, she recorded 104 saves with five clean sheets.
The only team that scored more than four goals against her was East Fairmont, this year’s Class AA-A state champion who went 24-1.
“Her skills have improved every year,” Dawson said. “She thoroughly enjoys the challenge of goal keeping.”