Kansas City, MO – After a strong season capped off with an incredible run to the NAIA National Championship game, a trio of Patriots women's soccer players were recognized as NAIA All-Americans, NAIA officials announced Tuesday.  Carola Fontan garnered NAIA Second Team All-American accolades, while Nicole Araujo and Samanatha Sokolove were NAIA Third Team All-Americans.

Fontan becomes just the third Patriot in program history to garner All-American honors at least three times in their career as it marks the third consecutive year that she landed as a NAIA Second Team All-American.  The senior tallied seven goals, a team-high 10 assists, and 24 points which ranked second on the team.  Fontan was pivotal in Cumberlands NAIA Tournament run as she notched three goals and two assists at the NAIA Final Site, which led to her garnering NAIA Outstanding Offensive Performance and NAIA All-Tournament Team honors.  She netted the game-winning goal against both College of Idaho and Oklahoma Wesleyan, while assisting the game-winning goal in the 89' against John Brown.  This closes out a storied career for the Les Franqueses del Valles, Barcelona, Spain native, who tallied 36 goals, 36 assists, and 108 points.  Fontan's 36 assists rank second in program history, while she became just the fifth Patriot to clip 100 career points. 

Araujo earned NAIA Third Team All-American honors after a career-season.  The Lisboa, Portugal native tallied a career-high 11 goals and 31 points, along with three game-winning goals on the year to lead the Patriots attack.  Araujo had two multi-goal games on the year, including a six point (2 goals, 2 assists) performance in the 4-0 win over Campbellsville.  Araujo notched two goals and an assist during the NAIA Final Site, including scoring the game-winning goal in the 1-0 quarterfinal win over #5 John Brown. She also notched the game-winning goal against Milligan earlier in the season.  Over the past three seasons, Araujo has compiled 24 goals, 26 assists, and 74 points, while being a three-time MSC All-Conference selection and the 2023 MSC Freshman of the Year.

After anchoring the Patriots backline, Sokolove captures NAIA Third Team All-American accolades.  The Hudsonville, MI native dished out a career-best nine assists on the season, including a trio of assists in the win over Freed-Hardeman.  She also notched a pair of assists, including on the game-winning goal in double overtime, as the Patriots defeated #4 College of Idaho in the NAIA Round of 16.  Sokolove was a pivotal part of Cumberlands defense the limited opponents to 0.76 goals per match and just 9.4 shots per game.  The Patriots notched 14 clean sheets on the year, including a trio in the NAIA Tournament.  For her efforts, Sokolove was named to the NAIA All-Tournament and is a two-time MSC Defensive Player of the Week. 

This marks the fourth consecutive year that Cumberlands had multiple NAIA All-American honorees and just the third time UC had at least three All-Americans in the same season. Cumberlands closed out the season with a 17-5-3 record, and finished the year as the NAIA National Runner-Up.

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