AZUSA, Calif -- PacWest Defender of the Year and All-PacWest First Team selection Sophia Emerson earned D2CCA All-Region First Team honors, while All-PacWest First Team honoree Zoey Kuhn picked up a spot on the All-Region Second Team. 

Emerson was essential to the Cougars' back line this season, starting all 21 matches and stepping off the field for only 11 minutes. She led a defensive group that put together 10 consecutive shutouts, the longest streak in NCAA Division II, and finished with 12 clean sheets overall. Her impact at center back was evident as the Cougars limited opponents to one or fewer shots on target in seven games across the season. She also added two assists- one to tie the game in the second round of the NCAA Championships to keep the Cougars' alive in the postseason- finishing the year with two points from the back line.

Kuhn was the driving force to the Cougars' offensive success this season. She played in all 20 matches and earned 13 starts, logging 1101 minutes. Kuhn finished as the team's leading goal scorer with eight goals, four of which were game-winners. She delivered 2, two-goal performances on the season, both against Point Loma, and scored all of APU's post-season goals. Her comeback brace against Point Loma in the first round of the NCAA Tournament pushed the Cougars into the second round, and in the next match, she rescued APU again, scoring an 89th-minute equalizer against No. 1 seed Western Washington to extend the Cougars' postseason hopes.