MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The University of Tennessee Southern women's soccer program received extensive recognition Wednesday evening as the Southern States Athletic Conference announced its 2026 Women's Soccer Year-End Awards and All-Conference teams.
Leading the way for the Firehawks was Kamilia Tayebi, who was named the SSAC Defensive Player of the Year after anchoring one of the conference's top defensive units while also contributing 12 goals and five assists on the attacking end.
Freshman goalkeeper Sam De Gier added another accolade to her outstanding first season in Pulaski, earning the Golden Gloves Award after helping lead a Firehawk defense that recorded 10 shutouts and allowed only 16 goals during the regular season. De Gier finished the regular season with 46 saves and has already collected four SSAC Defensive Player of the Week honors and an NAIA Defensive Player of the Week award.
UT Southern placed six student-athletes on the First-Team All-SSAC squad, tied for one of the strongest conference representations. The Firehawks' First-Team selections included:
The Firehawks also saw Lauren Mercer earn Second-Team All-Conference recognition following another strong campaign.
UT Southern's future was equally well represented on the conference's All-Freshman Team. De Gier and Cramer were joined by defender Kaydence Weinhandl, giving the Firehawks three selections on the squad.
Success extended beyond the field as well. Eight Firehawks earned spots on the Athletic Solutions All-Academic Team, including:
Senior Jamie Brown was also recognized as UT Southern's representative on the SSAC Champions of Character Team.
The honors come on the heels of another strong regular season for the Firehawks. UT Southern finished 13-3-1 overall, placed third in the conference standings, reached as high as No. 18 in the national rankings, and currently sits No. 22 in the final NAIA National Selection Committee Poll.
Up Next
The Firehawks return to postseason action on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. in Montgomery, Alabama, where No. 22 UT Southern will face No. 21 Life University in the SSAC Tournament Semifinal.
The matchup features two nationally ranked programs and UTS looks to avenge it blemish to the Runnin' Eagles from their regular-season meeting. Life claimed a 2-0 win in the regular-season finale. A berth in the SSAC Championship Match will be on the line.
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