Stanford University’s women’s soccer team has received several major honors in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) following its regular-season title win. The announcement, made Wednesday, highlighted individual and team achievements as recognized by ACC coaches.
Senior Elise Evans was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year, freshman Caroline Birkel earned ACC Goalkeeper of the Year, and head coach Paul Ratcliffe was selected as ACC Coach of the Year.
“This is my 10th time being named conference Coach of the Year,” said Ratcliffe. His previous recognition came as Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2018. For Evans, this marks Stanford’s sixth Defensive Player of the Year honor, with Naomi Girma last winning it in 2021. Birkel becomes Stanford’s third Goalkeeper of the Year after Jane Campbell (2015) and Ryan Campbell (2023).
Stanford also led all programs with four players on the All-ACC first team: Jasmine Aikey, Birkel, Evans, and Andrea Kitahata. Shae Harvey and Charlotte Kohler were named to the second team. On the All-Freshman team, both Birkel and Y-Lan Nguyen were included.
Kitahata had been Stanford’s only preseason All-ACC selection.
Evans started all 17 matches this season as a key part of Stanford’s defense, helping limit opponents to an average of 0.82 goals per game on 6.53 shots. She contributed five goals and four assists this year and has earned all-conference honors every season at Stanford.
Birkel started every match in goal during her freshman campaign, allowing just ten goals over 1,213 minutes—the fewest among ACC goalkeepers with at least ten appearances—and making 23 saves. She recorded one solo shutout and combined for six more as part of a defensive unit that posted a +55 goal differential. Birkel is also notable for being Stanford’s first true freshman starting goalkeeper since Jane Campbell in 2013.
Ratcliffe has coached at Stanford for 23 seasons with a record of 407-73-42 (.820). He achieved his 400th win earlier this season against Boston College. Under his leadership, Stanford has claimed eleven conference titles—including its first in the ACC—three national championships, six NCAA finals appearances, eleven College Cup berths, fifteen NCAA third-round appearances in nineteen years, and twenty-one NCAA Tournament spots out of twenty-two seasons.
Aikey joined Evans on the MAC Hermann Trophy midseason watch list and was twice named ACC Offensive Player of the Week this year. She leads Stanford with thirteen goals and seven assists for thirty-three points so far this season.
Kitahata scored at least one point in fourteen matches this year and ranks second on the team with thirteen goals and six assists for thirty-two points.
Harvey played a significant role during Stanford’s run to its conference title by scoring four goals with eight assists across seventeen starts in midfield.
Kohler contributed seven goals along with a team-high ten assists while starting sixteen matches; she provided crucial game-winning performances against top-ranked teams Virginia and Florida State.
Nguyen started seven matches as a freshman midfielder after making her collegiate debut against Pitt on September 14; she tallied one goal and one assist over nearly one thousand minutes played.
By finishing atop ACC standings, top-ranked Stanford secured a first-round bye for the upcoming ACC Championship tournament. The Cardinal will face No.7 Virginia Thursday evening at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.
