Contact:
Taiah Gallisath, Associate Director of Athletics Communication, 630-637-5302
2026-27 College Team Academic Award Winners
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Aug. 7, 2026) – The North Central College women's soccer team has earned its eighth consecutive United Soccer Coaches Academic Team Award and its 13th in program history as the organization announced its selections Friday morning.
A total of 777 soccer teams (326 men, 451 women) earned the distinction after posting a team grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. North Central is one of 175 schools to have both their men's and women's programs recognized.
The Cardinals, led by head coach
Andrew Gamarra, posted a 3.47 team GPA for the year. Last fall, 20 Cardinals were named Academic All-College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin honorees while
Kassandra Salviola,
Yazmin Martinez,
Madison DeVriendt,
Lily Mattison,
Cydnie Bayless, and
Victoria Jaimes were also awarded College Sports Communicators Academic All-District. Mattison was also named a CCIW Jack Swartz Award recipient last fall for maintaining at least a 3.50 GPA in addition to her successes on the pitch.
As a team, North Central completed a remarkable season in 2025, sweeping the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) regular season and tournament titles for just the second time in program history en route to its third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Cardinals earned the first NCAA Tournament win in program history with a 3-1 victory over Loras College. North Central finished the CCIW portion of its schedule with an 8-0 slate while compiling a 16-6 record for the season.
The program also reeled in five United Soccer Coaches All-Region selections as Salviola, Mattison, and
Jordan Lange were selected to the first team, and DeVriendt and
Mackenzie Loomis earned second team honors. Additionally, Salviola and Lange also earned All-America honors as both were named to the third team.
North Central is set to kick off its 2026 season with a home contest on Tuesday, Sept. 1 against Illinois Institute of Technology, which is receiving votes in the annual preseason poll.
