KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Academic laurels continued to pour in Thursday for the Colorado School of Mines women's soccer team as the duo of Natalie Rouse and Afton Rasco were named Scholar All-Americans by the United Soccer Coaches.
 
Rouse was named a First Team honoree while Rasco was recognized on the Second Team. It is the first such honor for both individuals from the United Soccer Coaches for their academic achievements. Mines was one of six schools with multiple Scholar All-America selections along with Grand Valley State, Dallas Baptist, Columbus State, North Georgia and Embry-Riddle (FL). A total of 26 student-athletes were honored as part of the two Scholar All-America teams.
 
Rouse earns high marks for her academics for the third time this week, having been named First Team Academic All-America® by the College Sports Communicators and also earning Scholar All-Region honors from the United Soccer Coaches on Wednesday. She graduated in May 2025 with a degree in Applied Mathematics & Statistics and a 3.98 GPA and is in her first semester of graduate school studying Operations Research Nuclear Engineering. An All-American selection this fall as well from the D2CCA as well as the coaches association, Rouse returned from injury this fall to finish second on the team in goals scored with five for 10 points. Three of her five goals were game-winners and four of five came by way of set pieces as the Carlsbad, California native was one of five Orediggers to start all 21 matches this fall and led the team with 1,909 minutes played. She was a lynchpin in a defense that recorded a 0.76 GAA and nine shutouts.
 
Rasco picks up her third honor of the fall from the United Soccer Coaches following an All-Region selection last week and Scholar All-Region honors Wednesday. The senior from Boise, Idaho has a 3.42 GPA in Chemical Engineering and ended her time at Mines with a bang in 2025. Rasco scored three times while finishing tied for the team and RMAC lead in assists with 10 for a total of 16 points. She became the seventh player in program history with 10 or more assists in a single season and in doing so vaulted herself into seventh in program history in total points with 54. In her four seasons at Mines, Rasco also scored 18 goals with six game-winners while logging 4,665 minutes in 82 matches with 56 starts. Her 18 goals rank in the top 10 all-time in program history.
 
Fans can keep up with Mines women's soccer on X and Instagram at @mineswsoc. They can also keep up with Colorado School of Mines Athletics all year long on Facebook, X and Instagram using the handle @MinesAthletics.