LATHAM, N.Y. - The United East conference has announced its 2024 Women’s Soccer All-Conference Teams. Each All-Conference team is made up of sixteen student-athletes comprising three forwards, four midfielders, four defensive players, one goalkeeper, and four at-large selections.
Forty-nine individuals earned All-Conference status for their performances during the 2024 season and four major awards have been handed out including Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year.
Ten out of the seventeen participating United East schools saw members of their teams awarded All-Conference with Penn State Berks and Penn State Harrisburg each seeing ten individuals earn All-Conference, including Harrisburg having the Defensive Player of the Year. St. Mary’s College of Maryland had eight student-athletes named All-Conference with the Seahawks claiming the Coach of the Year.
Wilson College saw five members on teams, while Bryn Athyn College and Penn College each had four members on the All-Conference teams with Wildcats claiming both the Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. Penn State Abington and Lancaster Bible College each had three student-athletes named All-Conference while Cairn University and University of Valley Forge saw one student-athlete earn All-Conference honors, respectively.
Major Award Winners
Player of the Year - Megan Kurian (Penn College)
Defensive Player of the Year - Kylie Yap (Penn State Harrisburg)
Rookie of the Year - Megan Kurian (Penn College)
Coach of the Year - Peter Krech (St. Mary’s College of Maryland)
Penn College’s Megan Kurian (FY / Royersford, Pa.) has been named the 2024 United East Women’s Soccer Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year after the first-year had a monster debut season leading the Wildcats to an unbeaten league season (7-0-1) and set a new program record for goals in a season. Kurian made an immediate impact for the Wildcats, scoring 25 goals, handing out 15 assists, and posting 67 points in the regular season as Penn College had one of the nation’s highest-scoring offenses.
Nationally, Kurian finished the season with top 10 marks in numerous statistics including 2nd in Total Points (67), 3rd in Points per Game (3.35), 4th in Total Goals (26), 7th in Goals per Game (1.30), 7th in Total Assists (15), and 8th in Assists per Game (0.75). Kurian earned United East Offensive Player of the Week for September 23, 2024, after she scored seven goals and four assists in a 3-0 week of non-conference play.
Kylie Yap (So / Voorhees, N.J.) has been named the 2024 United East Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Year. Yap anchored the backline that only allowed one goal in conference play as the Lions finished an unbeaten season (7-0-1) . Additionally, the Lions defense allowed 11 goals over 20 matches on the season; good for a 0.58 Goals Against Average. Yap, who is also a member of the Philippines Women’s National Team player pool, earned United East Defensive Player of the Week for the week of September 16, 2024.
Peter Krech has been voted United East Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year after guiding St. Mary’s (Md.) College to an unbeaten conference season (7-0-1), a 17-1-4 regular season, and a share of the United East regular season championship. The Seahawks had the league’s stingiest defense, not allowing a goal in eight league matches, as well as the league’s second-highest scoring outfit, with 46 goals in those eight matches. Additionally, eight members of the program were awarded All-Conference honors, with three on the First Team. This is the second Coach of the Year award for Krech, who previously won in 2015 while playing in the now-defunct Capital Athletic Conference.
FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
*NOTE: Both GK earned the exact same vote totals, earning both a spot on the First Team*
SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
THIRD TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
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The United East boasts 17 NCAA Division III full member institutions which include: Bryn Athyn College, Cairn University, Cedar Crest College, Clarks Summit University, Gallaudet University, Keystone College, Lancaster Bible College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Harrisburg, Rosemont College, Saint Elizabeth University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, University of Valley Forge, and Wilson College. For more information, please visit gounitedeast.com.