CSC Women's Soccer Academic All-America

Austin, TX – The UC women's soccer team had an historic year excelling both on the pitch and in the classroom.  On Wednesday, four Patriot student-athletes were named 2024 Academic All-America®, leading the way for the most honorees from any NAIA school. 

Rita Aguye, Jayden Boelter, and Georgia Martell were all CSC First Team Academic All-America® honorees, while Carola Fontan earned CSC Second Team Academic All-America®.  The three first team honorees and four recipients of this award are both the most in program history.

Rita Aguye became the first Patriot women's soccer player to earn CSC First Team Academic All-America® three times.  Aguye was the 2024 MSC Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first Patriot player to earn this honor.  The senior started in 17 matches anchoring Cumberlands backline that limited opponents to 0.42 GAA, 5.7 shots per game, and recording 12 clean sheets.  In addition to her efforts on the defensive end of the pitch, Aguye also notched three goals, seven assists, and 13 points on the year.  The Ametlla del Valles, Spain native tallied a goal and an assists in the 2-0 win over Bethel to help the Pats advance to the MSC Tournament finals.

Jayden Boelter earned CSC First Team Academic All-America® honors after a record breaking season.  The Hebron, KY native etched her name into the record books, breaking the single season mark for goals (30), points (66), and game-winning goals (10).  Boelter, who is a three-time NAIA All-American, became just the second UC player to earn MSC Player of the Year honors and is the only Patriot player to earn MSC First Team All-Conference honors five times. The fifth-year player had nine multi-goal matches and scored at least three goals four times on the year.  She netted a career-high four goals in UC's 6-1 win over Olivet Nazarene in the Second Round of the NAIA Tournament.  Boelter is the first UC player with over 100 career goals and holds the career mark for goals (101), points (233), and game-winning goals (28).

Georgia Martell garnered CSC First Team Academic All-America® after a strong season between the post.  The Brisbane, Australia native recorded 40 saves and posted an .833 save percentage on the season.  Martell was a key part of the Patriots defense that limited opponents to 0.50 goals against average, which ranked sixth in the NAIA.  The senior tallied seven clean sheets and made a season-high six saves in the win over Bethel.  Martell set the program record for GAA in a season and holds the career mark in both save percentage (0.825) and GAA (0.68).  Martell was an essential part of the Patriots 2023 national championship run as she recorded four shutouts and made a career-high 18 saves in the national championship game. 

Carola Fontan captured CSC Second Team Academic All-America® for the first time in her career.  The junior was second on the team with ten goals, 12 assists, and 32 points.  She earned MSC First Team All-Conference honors for the second straight year and tallied a point in each of the final 12 matches to close out the season.  Fontan notched a brace in the regular season finale against Georgetown, before dishing out a pair of assists in the MSC Tournament Championship.  The junior also netted Cumberlands goal in the Round of 16 match against John Brown.  Fontan had four game-winning goals on the year and was third in the MSC in assists.

Cumberlands closed out the year with an 18-1 record, capturing both the MSC regular season and tournament titles in the same year for the first time in program history.  UC also notched a 23-match win streak, which ranks fifth in NAIA history.  These four honorees were all vital parts of the Patriots 2023 NAIA National Championship team.

For the latest and most up-to-date information on University of the Cumberlands Athletics. Please visit www.cumberlandspatriots.com. Follow us on Twitter- @UC_Patriots and @UCPatsGameday, Instagram- @UCPatriots, TikTok- @ucpatriots, Youtube- Cumberlands Patriots, and Facebook by searching University of the Cumberlands Athletics.