Coach of the Year: Theresa Romagnolo says, “This team will go down as one of the best ever in Saint Mary’s history.” / Photo by Emily Smith for SMC Athletics
West Coast Conference Women’s Soccer Top Awards: Saint Mary’s Theresa Romagnolo Named Coach of the Year and Kate Plachy Goalkeeper of the Year
The Gaels led a magical and historic campaign, recording 12 wins, a second place conference finish, and just narrowly missing out on an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. Multiple players earned all-conference recognition and all-academic honors.
The Saint Mary’s Women’s Soccer team gave everything they had this season for a magical and historic 2025 campaign, recording 12 wins, a second place conference finish, and just narrowly missing out on an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament. Despite the tough news of the official end of the season, the Gaels saw their name prominently displayed among the 2025 West Coast Conference All-Conference awards: SMC Head Coach Theresa Romagnolo was named Coach of the Year, and Kate Plachy earned recognition as Goalkeeper of the Year. This is the first time in program history that Saint Mary's has won multiple conference awards in the same season.
Sydney Middaugh joined Plachy on the WCC All-Conference First Team, while senior midfielder Savannah Schwarze was named to the Second Team for her third career all-conference selection. Amari Hicks, Maddie Lucas, and Ashlyn Vaughn rounded out the selections for Saint Mary's, earning an Honorable Mention, to give the Gaels six total all-conference selections.
WCC Coach of the Year: Theresa Romagnolo
Head Coach Theresa Romagnolo has helped put Saint Mary’s Women’s Soccer back on the map with a historic season and rightfully earning her first WCC Coach of the Year award. The six-year head coach has gotten off to quite a start in her SMC career, recording three 10-win seasons and combining for 48 wins.
Romagnolo is only the second coach in the program's history to win conference Coach of the Year. This season, the Gaels went 12–2–4 for their highest win total since 2001, including a program record seven conference wins to finish just one point behind WCC Champions Pepperdine, for their best conference finish since 2000.
“It has been an absolute pleasure to coach this group of girls,” Romagnolo said. “This team will go down as one of the best ever in Saint Mary’s history and I could not be more proud of this group. We left it all out on the field and gave it our all every single day to put together an incredible season.”
Prior to 2021, Saint Mary's had not recorded a 10-win season since Kai Edwards in 2011. As for Coach of the Year, this is the first for SMC since Paul Ratcliffe took home the award three straight seasons, 1999–2001. Romagnolo and her squad had visions of the 2001 team that won 15 games, went 5-2 in conference play and made their third NCAA Tournament appearance.
WCC Goalkeeper of the Year: Kate Plachy
Saint Mary's finished the season as the best defensive team in the WCC. It’s no surprise that great defensive teams included a standout keeper. This year, the Gaels got that from redshirt sophomore Kate Plachy. She wore No. 11 on her jersey and she put together a career season in just her second year as the everyday starter.
Plachy led the WCC in shutouts with a dozen. She led the conference in save percentage, at .855, and she was second in Goals Against Average, 0.611. Those 12 shutouts are the second most in a single season for the Gaels. Over her first two seasons with the Gaels, Plachy now has 18 career shutouts—which puts her at fourth all-time for Saint Mary’s.
Let’s talk about saves: Plachy finished the 2025 campaign with 65. She set a new career high with 12 saves in a road draw with San Francisco on September 27.
“KP was incredible for us in goal this year,” said Gaels Head Coach Theresa Romagnolo. “She showed great growth from year one to year two, and she was our leader in the backline. Her hard work on and off the field truly paid off this year, and she could not be more deserving of this award.”
For the Gaels, Plachy is just the second WCC Goalkeeper of the Year. Taylor Poland garnered that recognition in 2020. Plachy also earned a spot on the WCC All-Conference First Team.
All-WCC First Team: Sydney Middaugh
No. 31 Sydney Middaugh was the engine of the Gaels offense, leading the team with ten goals and also adding a pair of assists. Middaugh stood as one of the most dynamic and talented forwards in the WCC, boasting impressive speed and change of direction, along with elite dribbling skills to make her a dangerous one-on-one threat.
Middaugh was a part of so many highs for the Gaels this season. She recorded two braces in wins over San Diego and Oregon State. She scored the second goal in a statement road win over 16th-ranked Georgetown. And she finished the season with a conference high five game-winners.
This is Middaugh's third all-conference selection. She was an all-freshman selection in 2023 and was named to the second team in 2024. She now has 18 career goals over her three seasons, ranking 10th in program history.
All-WCC Second Team: Savannah Schwarze
Four-year midfielder Savannah Schwarze capped off her decorated collegiate career with her third All-WCC selection. Schwarze started all but one game for Saint Mary’s, tallying 1,411 minutes played, three goals, five assists, and 36 shot attempts—a combination that makes her one the conference's most balanced and all-around talented players. Schwarze was one of the team's captains as a four-year senior and was a tremendous box-to-box midfielder.
Schwarze was named the WCC Offensive Player of the Week on September 1, after finishing her two-game week with a goal and two assists in home wins over San Jose State and Boston University. She finishes her collegiate career with eight goals, 13 assists, and 64 games played.
Honorable Mentions: Amari Hicks, Maddie Lucas, and Ashlyn Vaughn
Another veteran and leader in the Gaels backline, senior defender Amari Hicks earned an Honorable Mention for her role in the WCC's best defense. Hicks played in 17 games and made 16 starts, playing 1,448 minutes. The Las Vegas native was an everyday starter for the Gaels in 2024 but was not initially in the starting lineup in 2025, with senior transfer Anna Emperador getting the nod on opening day against CSUN. Emperador saw her season come to an end due to a knee injury. Hicks stepped in like she had never left.
Hicks had a great physical presence for the Gaels in the backline. She stands 5’10” and possesses great closing speed to keep up with any forward in the conference. She helped Saint Mary's to a conference leading 12 shutouts and just 11 goals allowed. This would is her first all-conference distinction. She concludes her collegiate career with 61 games played, 53 starts, and nearly 5,000 minutes of action.
Maddie Lucas was an active player off the bench for Saint Mary’s as a true freshman in 2024, but she filled a major role this season as the team’s holding midfielder. Lucas was one of five players to play and start in all 18 games for the Gaels this season, finishing with two assists and 1,536 minutes played. This is her first all-conference distinction, and she will continue to be a major piece of the Gaels’ success in seasons to come.
Freshman forward Ashlyn Vaughn had big shoes to fill in the Gaels front line after the departure of Tessa Salvestrin, who signed with SCU Torreense in Portugal. Vaughn brought a great burst of energy to every game she played in and as a true freshman; she will certainly be a major part to the team's attack in the coming years.
Vaughn finished her freshman campaign with three goals, three assists, 17 starts, and 1,251 minutes played. She was the team's lone recipient on the WCC All-Freshman Team as well as an Honorable Mention distinction.
Gaels Shine on the Field and in the Classroom: Ten WCC All-Academic Selections
Saint Mary's added to their successful 2025 campaign with ten WCC All-Academic selections, good for fourth most in the conference. In her first season eligible for the award, sophomore midfielder Maddie Lucas was the lone Gael selected to the All-Academic First Team, starting in all 18 games for Saint Mary's and recording a stellar 3.96 GPA as a Health Science major. Nine other players earned an Honorable Mention:
- No. 32 Emmie Ennis ’27 | Business Administration major, 3.28 GPA
- No. 3 Amari Hicks ’26 | Psychology major, 3.69 GPA
- No. 12 Taylor Kessler ’28 | Mathematics major, 3.45 GPA
- No. 5 Isabel Lendman ’27 | Mathematics major, 3.52 GPA
- No. 31 Sydney Middaugh ’27 | Psychology major, 3.22 GPA
- No. 11 Kate Plachy ’28 | Psychology major, 3.30 GPA
- No. 36 Aleiyah Schexnayder ’28 | Business Administration major, 3.23 GPA
- No. 14 Savannah Schwarze ’26 | Business Administration major, 3.46 GPA
- No. 8 Molly Silva ’27 | Business Administration major, 3.66 GPA
At the conclusion of each athletic season, the West Coast Conference selects an all-academic squad for each conference-sponsored sport. To be considered, a student-athlete must maintain at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average, while also being a significant contributor to her team and in at least their second year at their school. Student-athletes who meet the criteria but are not selected to the all-academic team garner honorable mention honors.
Story updated with photos and captions November 21, 2025 at 9 a.m. Pacific
