DALLAS — At the Lone Star Conference Championship banquet, the St. Mary's University Women's Soccer team had a pair of student-athletes recognized for their excellence on the pitch in 2025.
Junior
Elena Kossler from Ötztal-Bahnhof, Austria, was named both the Newcomer and the Forward of the Year, while she and senior
Shelby Paniagua (Cibolo, Texas) were each named to the Lone Star All-Conference First Team. Kossler was also honored on the Lone Star All-Academic team.
She leads the Lone Star Conference in game-winning goals (5), goals per game (0.72), points per game (1.78), shots on goal per game (2.28) and shots per game (4.50) and all of those rank in the top 16 in the nation. She was named the D2CIDA National Player of the Week on October 28, the first-ever for a St. Mary's Women's Soccer player, after earning the conference honor on the 27th.
It is the third-straight season Paniagua has earned a place on the top team in the league after earning a place on the All-Freshman team in 2022. She finished second in the conference in total goals scored with 10, trailing only Kossler. Paniagua also ranks fourth in the league in goals (0.56), sixth in points (1.33), and third in both shots on goal (1.67) and shots (3.72) per game.
The Rattlers finished seventh in the Lone Star Conference standings and were the sixth-seed at the Lone Star Championship, falling in overtime to third-seeded Texas Woman's, 1-0. St. Mary's ends the year with a 9-6-3 overall record and an 8-4-2 mark in league action.
DBU's Parker Coe was named the Defender and Player of the Year, as well as the Academic Athlete of the Year, while teammate Anne Louthan was the Midfielder of the Year. Angelo State's Melyna Martinez earned Goalkeeper of the Year honors and DBU's Skylar Belanger took home Freshman of the Year.
