COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference released its postseason All-Conference honors and individual award winners for women's soccer Sunday and with that announcement, the Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team was well-represented with Reese McDermott being named Player of the Year, Bella Campos taking home Freshman of the Year honors and Natalie Rouse earning Defensive Player of the Year laurels to headline six All-RMAC selections.
 
Individual award winners and all-conference teams were voted on by the league's 13 head coaches. Coaches could not vote for themselves or their own players. With Mines taking three of the five major awards this season, Goalkeeper of the Year went to Isabella Whitmore of UCCS while Coach of the Year went to the Mountain Lions' boss J.B. Belzer. The Orediggers landed five total First and Second Team All-RMAC selections, tied with Colorado Mesa and one behind UCCS who had six players honored. Overall, Mines had four players named First Team All-RMAC, one Second Team honoree and one Honorable Mention selection.
 
McDermott, one of the most dominant players in the RMAC since arriving in the fall of 2021 and already one of the most decorated players in Mines history adds another accolade to her growing list, becoming the fourth RMAC Player of the Year in program history, joining Emily Garnier (2016), Anna Evans (2012) and Kayla Mitchell (2009) and earns her third First Team All-RMAC recognition in as many seasons.
 
The junior from Houston, Texas continued her climb up the Mines record books this season, scoring 10 goals and adding a career-high seven assists for 27 points with four game-winning goals while starting all 18 matches for 1,091 minutes. She also once again led the league in shooting with 75 shots, of which 34 were on goal. McDermott recorded a point in 13 of 18 matches this season and had a pair of multi-goal games against defending national champion Western Washington and against Black Hills State, the latter performance of which earned her RMAC Player of the Week honors as she notched a hat trick in a mere 36 minutes of playing time. She recorded an assist in four consecutive matches from October 8-20, scored in three of the final four matches of the season and recorded a point in eight of 10 contests to close the regular season. All-time at Mines, she currently ranks fourth in goals, game-winning goals and points with 33, 11 and 77 respectively, tied for fourth in shots on goal with 94, fifth in shots with 197 and has started 56 of 59 matches played for almost 3,600 minutes in two-plus seasons.
 
Campos extends the Orediggers' run on the Freshman of the Year award in recent seasons, becoming the third player in the last three seasons from Mines to win in joining teammates Afton Rasco, who won the award last season, and McDermott who won it in the fall 2021 season, and the fifth player overall to win the honor, with former players Laya Rybicki (2014) and Evans (2010) also taking home the award and joins McDermott on the All-RMAC First Team.
 
The Highland Village, Texas product announced her arrival to the RMAC right away in 2023, scoring twice in her collegiate debut against San Francisco State in only 23 minutes off the bench. As her workload increased, so too did the production, as she too recorded a point in 13 of 18 matches and finding the back of the net in 10 different games. In addition to her two-goal game against SFSU, she scored twice against Black Hills State and ended the regular season on a five-match scoring streak and has scored in six of the last seven going back to October 8 against Western Colorado. Playing mostly in a reserve role this season, Campos started four times in 18 matches for 662 minutes and logged 44 shots with 24 on goal. Her 12 goals scored this season lead the RMAC and are the most goals scored by a Mines freshman in program history. Campos also defined what it meant to provide 'instant offense' when subbing on, scoring eight of her goals this season within eight minutes of checking in, with five coming within three minutes, four coming within two minutes and two coming less than a minute after subbing on.
 
Rouse also earned a spot on the First Team and becomes the sixth different Oredigger to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors, as Mines repeated as the award winner with Jordan Barnhart taking it home last season. Overall, Mines has now had eight Defensive Player of the Year awards come to Golden, as Giselle Sawaged (2019), current assistant coach Emily Townsend (2018) and Nicho Cusack (2014) all won the honor once while Emily Garnier went back-to-back-to-back from 2015-17. From her spot on the back line, she helped spearhead one of the best seasons defensively in progam history, helping record 13 shutouts while holding opponents to 0.44 goals and 6.7 shots per match.
 
A mid-year transfer from Division I UNLV who joined the Orediggers at the spring semester in January of 2023, Rouse was a dynamic two-way player from her center back spot this season and earned RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honors five times (Sept. 5 & 12, Oct. 3 & 17, Nov. 2). She scored six goals this season, all of which came on headers off of set pieces and included game-winners against Chico state and Colorado Mesa while also adding an assist for 13 points this season. She attempted 25 shots, with 15 on goal and led the team in minutes with 1,595, playing the full 90 minutes 17 times in 18 games, subbing off just once against BHSU on homecoming weekend.
 
Ellise Putnam was also named a First Team All-RMAC selection and earns the first All-League laurels of her career following a breakout season in which she recorded a team and RMAC-leading nine assists while scoring an additional two goals for 13 points. She had three assists back on September 29 against Black Hills State, becoming the fourth Oredigger to record three assists in a match and tying the single game program record. She also recorded four assists in a five-game stretch from October 8-22 that also included a goal against New Mexico Highlands. The junior from Austin has started 10 of 18 matches this season for 803 minutes and has attempted 35 shots with 13 on goal and ranks among the national leaders in assists this season.
 
Katie Koehler earned Second Team All-RMAC honors for the second consecutive season and backed up last season's breakout campaign with similar numbers in 2023. The fourth-year senior from The Woodlands, Texas tied her career high with four goals this season while also adding a pair of assists for 10 points, doing her damage on just 19 shot attempts with eight on goal. From her center back spot, she helped anchor another strong year defensively for Mines, logging 1,520 minutes and helping record 13 shutouts while limiting opponents to 0.44 goals and 6.7 shots per match.
 
Ava Harman was named an Honorable Mention All-Conference selection, marking the second All-RMAC honor of her career following a Second Team nod back in her sophomore season in the fall of 2021. The Vancouver, Washington product was absolutely lethal for the Orediggers when it came to set pieces this season, recording seven assists on either free kicks or corner kicks while also scoring twice this season for 11 points. Both of her goals were game-winners and came against Angelo State and Adams State. She was part of one of the most dynamic goal-facilitating midfield units in the country, helping lead Mines to a total of 47 assists on 52 goals scored. Harman recorded 1,271 minutes and attempted 10 shots in the regular season, with five on goal and was one of four players to start all 18 matches for Mines.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines women's soccer on Twitter and Instagram at @mineswsoc. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.
 
RMAC Player of the Year: Reese McDermott, Mines
RMAC Freshman of the Year: Bella Campos, Mines
RMAC Defensive Player of the Year: Natalie Rouse, Mines
RMAC Goalkeeper of the Year: Isabella Whitmore, UCCS
RMAC Coach of the Year: J.B. Belzer, UCCS
 
2023 RMAC Women's Soccer First Team All-Conference
Reese McDermott, F, Jr., Mines
Bella Campos, F, Fr., Mines
Sauvelyne Randel, F, R-Jr., Colorado Mesa
Natalie Bunch, F, So., Regis
Ellise Putnam, M, Jr., Mines
Abby Fotheringham, M, Jr., Colorado Mesa
Makayla Merlo, M, R-Jr., UCCS
Fie Steenberg, M, Jr, UCCS
Natalie Rouse, D, R-So., Mines
Carli Dare, D, R-So., Colorado Mesa
Jade Kinsey, D, R-Sr., UCCS
Sophia DiGeronimo, D, Sr., Westminster
Isabella Whitmore, GK, Gr., UCCS
 
2023 RMAC Women's Soccer Second Team All-Conference
Kylie Wells, F, So., Colorado Mesa
Aubrey Swindle, F, Sr., Fort Lewis
Madeline Gardner, F, Fr., Regis
Kelby Kuo, F, 5Y., Regis
Cortney Cowles, M, Jr., CSU Pueblo
Gabi Meraz-Fishbein, M, Jr., Fort Lewis
Abby Barhydt, M, R-Jr., UCCS
Emily Aguilar, M, So., UCCS
Katie Koehler, D, Sr., Mines
Ally Wachtel, D, So., Colorado Mesa
Amber Otts, D, Fr., Fort Lewis
Caileen Sienknecht, D, Gr., Western Colorado
Kylie Bach, GK, Jr., MSU Denver
 
2022 RMAC Women's Soccer Honorable Mention
Ashlyn Bartley, Adams State
Athena Huggins, Adams State
Emily Ibsen, Adams State
Brissa Toribio, Adams State
Makaiah Carlson, Black Hills State
Capri Dewing, Colorado Christian
Ava Dinverno, Colorado Christian
Zoe Sims, Colorado Christian
Keely Wieczorek, Colorado Mesa
Ava Harman, Mines
Sienna Gargano, CSU Pueblo
Nicole Genis, CSU Pueblo
Ariadna Lora Membrives, CSU Pueblo
Riley Bravin, Fort Lewis
Sabrina Reyes, Fort Lewis
Tessa Killmon, MSU Denver
Kailey Maness, MSU Denver
Maddy Rueter, MSU Denver
Emily Siriois, MSU Denver
Monica Yoder, MSU Denver
Alex Baer, Regis
Maidson Cullinan, Regis
Sarah Wynn, Regis
Reece Mercer, Western Colorado
Karly Morkunas, Western Colorado
Laura Pelino, Western Colorado
Alex Hoffman, Westminster