BOSTON – The top four teams in the 2026 America East women’s soccer standings took home the bulk of conference’s annual hardware with Binghamton, Bryant, Maine and Vermont combining to earn all six major awards as the winners were announced Wednesday afternoon.
Regular-season champion Binghamton claimed two awards with Jahkaya Davis earning Striker of the Year honors and teammate Sophia Garofalo garnering Defender of the Year accolades. Bryant also earned a pair in Goalkeeper of the Year (Shannon Mejia) and Coaching Staff of the Year. Maine’s Luise Reinwald was named Midfielder of the Year while Vermont’s Eleni Stowell was tabbed Rookie of the Year.
Additionally, the All-Conference, All-Rookie and All-Academic Teams were also announced. All awards, with the exception of All-Academic, were voted on by the league’s head coaches who could not vote for their own team. All-Academic Teams were voted on by a committee of athletic administrators and faculty.
2026 America East Women’s Soccer Annual Awards
Striker of the Year
Jahkaya Davis, Jr., Binghamton
- Top scoring threat in America East leading the league with nine goals and 18 points.
- Also led the conference with six goals and 12 points in conference play.
- Tied for the league lead with four game-winning goals.
- Third Bearcat to be named Striker of the Year and first since Maya Anand in 2022.
- Also a first-team All-Conference and All-Academic selection.
Midfielder of the Year
Luise Reinwald, Sr., Maine
- Just the second Black Bear to be named Midfielder of the Year and first since Marie-Andree Canuel in 2005.
- Tallied three goals and an assist on the season.
- Played a key role in the Black Bears ranking third in the league in scoring margin.
- Rarely came off the field, racking up over 1,300 minutes played.
- Also a first-team All-Conference and All-Academic selection.
Defender of the Year
Sophia Garofalo, Sr., Binghamton
- Named Defender of the Year for the second-straight year. She’s just the sixth player to earn the award twice.
- Anchored a defense that allowed just eight goals in 16 games this season, including only five in league play, and ranks seventh nationally in team goals against average (.500).
- Named America East Defensive Player of the Week three times this season.
- Also a first-team All-Conference and All-Academic selection.
Goalkeeper of the Year
Shannon Mejia, Sr., Bryant
- Leads the league with an .829 save percentage, which ranks in the top 50 nationally.
- Ranks second in goals against average (0.88) and shutouts (8).
- Was at her best in conference play leading the league in GAA (0.51), save percentage (.907) and shutouts (5). She allowed just four goals in eight conference games while averaging 4.9 saves per game.
- She’s the first Bulldog to earn a positional Player of the Year award since Bryant joined the conference in 2022.
- Also a first-team All-Conference and All-Academic selection.
Rookie of the Year
Eleni Stowell, Fr., Vermont
- Leads all America East rookies in goals (5) and points (14), which also ranks sixth and seventh, respectively, overall.
- Three of her goals came during conference play.
- Named America East Rookie of the Week on 9/8.
- Also a second-team All-Conference and All-Rookie selection.
Coaching Staff of the Year
Bryant Bulldogs
- Let Bryant to its best-ever America East finish, a tie for second place, and the No. 2 seed for the America East Championship.
- The Bulldogs, who were picked sixth in the league’s preseason poll, are 4-1-2 in their last seven games outscoring foes 9-1 in that span.
- One of the league’s top defensive teams, Bryant allowed a league-low four goals in conference play.
- This is Bryant’s first-ever America East Coaching Staff of the Year honor.
Binghamton led the way with six All-Conference selections while Maine and Bryant had four each. UMass Lowell received three honors while Vermont picked up two and New Hampshire one.
The Bearcats, Bulldogs and Black Bears, the top three seeds for the America East Championship, accounted for 10 of the 11 first-team All-Conference selections. The Bearcats and Black Bears each had four while the Bulldogs had two and UMBC one.
Stowell headlined the second-team All-Conference while UMass Lowell led the way with three second-team selections.
Stowell also led the All-Rookie team. UAlbany, Binghamton, UMass Lowell and Vermont each had a pair of choices while UMBC, New Hampshire and NJIT each had one.
Seven of the All-Academic honorees, who excel both athletically and academically, also earned All-Conference recognition.
The majority of the award winners will be in action this week as the 2026 America East Women's Soccer Championship gets underway. Visit Championsihp Central all of the tournament information.
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Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference and its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
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