STANFORD, Calif. - Having clinched the regular-season ACC title, Stanford was well-represented in the conference end of year awards process, it was announced on Wednesday.
Senior Elise Evans was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year, freshman Caroline Birkel was selected ACC Goalkeeper of the Year, and Paul Ratcliffe was named ACC Coach of the Year following a vote of the conference coaches.
For Ratcliffe, the conference Coach of the Year selection is his 10th overall, including his first since being named Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2018. Evans is Stanford’s sixth Defensive Player of the Year selection, including the first since Naomi Girma earned the Pac-12’s top defender award in 2021. Birkel’s selection runs Stanford’s Goalkeeper of the Year list to three, joining Jane Campbell (2015) and Ryan Campbell (2023) who had previously garnered the honor in the Pac-12.
In addition to the yearly award winners, the Cardinal placed four on the All-ACC first team, two on the second team and two on the ACC All-Freshman team. Jasmine Aikey, Birkel, Evans and Andrea Kitahata were named to the All-ACC first team, while Shae Harvey and Charlotte Kohler landed on the second team. Having turned in spectacular first seasons on The Farm, Birkel and Y-Lan Nguyen were named to the ACC All-Freshman team.
Stanford’s four first-team honorees, and six selections across the three All-ACC teams, are each the most of any program in the conference.
Kitahata was the lone Cardinal listed on the preseason All-ACC squad leading into the season.
Evans, who is listed on the midseason watch list for the MAC Hermann Trophy, has started all 17 matches this year while anchoring the Cardinal defensive line. The native of Redwood City has helped limit opponents to just 0.82 goals on 6.53 shots per game. Named ACC co-Defensive Player of the Week on August 19, Evans has contributed five goals and four assists – including a pair of assists in Stanford's 7-0 victory vs. San Francisco to open the season. Evans has been named all-conference in all four of her seasons on The Farm, including landing on the All-ACC third team a year ago.
Birkel has started every match in goal this year as a freshman, making 23 saves and allowing just 10 goals in 1,213 minutes - the fewest allowed among ACC goalkeepers with 10 or more appearances on the season. Birkel has registered one solo shutout while combining on six more to help the Cardinal post a +55 goal differential. The native of St. Louis, Mo. is the first Stanford true freshman to start in goal since Jane Campbell started 18 matches in 2013. Birkel is the first freshman to win ACC Goalkeeper of the Year honors since the award’s inception in 2022.
Ratcliffe, in his 23rd season at the helm of the program, is Stanford's all-time winningest soccer coach with a 407-73-42 (.820) record in his tenure on The Farm. He reached the 400-win plateau with a 2-0 victory over Boston College on September 25 of this season. Including the Cardinal’s first ACC title, Ratcliffe has guided Stanford to 11 conference crowns, three national championships, six NCAA finals, 11 College Cup appearances, a berth in the NCAA third round in 15 of the past 19 seasons, and a spot in the NCAA Tournament in 21 of his 22 seasons.
Aikey, who joins Evans on the midseason watch list for the MAC Hermann Trophy, was named ACC Offensive Player of the Week on October 14 and October 31 this year and has contributed at least a point in 13 of the first 17 matches this season. The native of Palo Alto, Calif. has a goal in 10 of the 17 contests this season, including scoring in three straight from August 24 to September 4, and four straight from September 25 to October 12. Aikey leads the team in total points with 33 (team-high 13 goals and seven assists) and has contributed four game-winners and three multi-goal matches this year. Aikey has been named all-conference in all four of her seasons on The Farm, including landing on the All-ACC second team a year ago.
Kitahata was named ACC Offensive Player of the Week on October 21 and has contributed at least one point in 14 of the 17 matches this year. Kitahata has twice managed strings of four consecutive matches with a goal this year, and has a goal in nine of the last 12 overall entering the ACC Championship. The native of Hillsborough, Calif. ranks second on the team in points with 32 (team-high 13 goals and six assists) and has contributed a pair of braces and four game-winners this season. This year’s all-conference selection runs Kitahata’s career total to three after she was named to the Pac-12’s second team in 2021 and 2023.
Harvey contributed her first career multi-goal match and her second career match with at least one goal and an assist by managing a brace against Virginia Tech on October 9. Crucial to Stanford’s run to the ACC title, Harvey has totaled 12 points in her last seven matches entering the ACC Championship. The native of Hermosa Beach, Calif. has contributed four goals and eight assists for 16 points while starting all 17 matches and registering over 1,000 minutes in the midfield. Harvey has twice been named all-conference after previously landing on the Pac-12 third team as a freshman in 2023.
Kohler, who has started 16 of Stanford’s 17 matches, has managed at least a point in 13 of the contests this season, including each of the last seven entering the ACC Championship. Kohler has contributed four game-winners - including the clincher to defeat No. 1 Virginia and No. 7 Florida State in back-to-back matches. The native of Woodside, Calif. contributed three assists vs. SMU on October 25 and has totaled seven goals and a team-best 10 assists for 24 points this season.
Nguyen made her first collegiate start at Pitt on September 14, managing an assist in the match, and has now started seven matches in her freshman season while registering 982 minutes. The native of Fairfax, Va. has totaled a goal and the assist for three points while serving an integral role in the Cardinal midfield.
By finishing atop the ACC standings, top-ranked Stanford earned a first-round bye in the ACC Championship and will return to action on Thursday when it meets No. 7 Virginia at 5 p.m. PT in a semifinal match from WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
2025 All-ACC Women's Soccer Team
Offensive Player of the Year: Izzy Engle, So., F, Notre Dame
Defensive Player of the Year: Elise Evans, Sr., D, Stanford
Midfielder of the Year: Lia Godfrey, Sr., M, Virginia
Goalkeeper of the Year: Caroline Birkel, Fr., GK, Stanford
Freshman of the Year: Kylie Maxwell, F, Wake Forest
Coach of the Year: Paul Ratcliffe, Stanford
First Team All-ACC
Mia Minestrella, Jr., F, Duke
Jordynn Dudley, Jr., F, Florida State
Olivia Thomas, Jr., F, North Carolina
Annabelle Chukwu, So., F, Notre Dame
Izzy Engle, So., F, Notre Dame
Leah Klenke, Sr., D, Notre Dame
Jasmine Aikey, Sr., F, Stanford
Caroline Birkel, Fr., GK, Stanford
Elise Evans, Sr., D, Stanford
Andrea Kitahata, R-Sr., F, Stanford
Lia Godfrey, Gr., M, Virginia
Second Team All-ACC
Kat Rader, R-Jr., M, Duke
Wrianna Hudson, So., F, Florida State
Taylor Suarez, So., M, Florida State
Karsyn Cherry, Sr., D, Louisville
Amelia Swinarski, So., M, Louisville
Jade Bordeleau, Jr., F, NC State
Shae Harvey, Jr., M, Stanford
Charlotte Kohler, So., M, Stanford
Maggie Cagle, Sr., F, Virginia
Laney Rouse, Gr., D, Virginia
Victoria Safradin, Jr., GK, Virginia
Third Team All-ACC
Juju Harris, Fr., F, Clemson
Carina Lageyre, Sr., M, Duke
Cameron Roller, Jr., D, Duke
Heather Gilchrist, Sr., D, Florida State
Mimi Van Zanten, Jr., D, Florida State
Emersen Jennings, Jr., F Louisville
Kate Faasse, Sr., F, North Carolina
Linda Ullmark, So., M, North Carolina
Grace Restovich, So., M, Notre Dame
Valentina Amaral, Jr., GK, Wake Forest
Kylie Maxwell, Fr., F, Wake Forest
All-Freshman Team
Juju Harris, F, Clemson
Daya King, D, Duke
Avery Oder, F, Duke
Hope Munson, D, North Carolina
Tessa Knapp, F, Notre Dame
Caroline Birkel, GK, Stanford
Y-Lan Nguyen, M, Stanford
Addison Halpern, F, Virginia
Liv Rademaker, D, Virginia
Allie Flanagan, F, Wake Forest
Kylie Maxwell, F, Wake Forest