Photo by TLU Sports and Athletic Marketing
SEGUIN, Texas — Texas Lutheran head coach Kerwin Johnson and junior Noelani Ajel (Cibolo/Steele) repeated as the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Coach and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively, and senior Natalia Cortez (Edinburg/Robert Vela) was selected as the Offensive Player of the Year.
Ajel, Cortez, junior midfielder Emma Alvarado (Austin/Johnson), junior defender Lilly Noblett (San Antonio/Warren), and senior goalkeeper Alysa Marquez (Miami, FL/Dr. Michael Krop) were all selected to the All-SCAC first team. Sophomore forward Makenzie Ivie (Portland/Gregory-Portland), freshman midfielder Alejandra Lopez (El Paso/Eastwood), and junior defender Monica Sitachitta (Spring/Grand Oaks) received second team acclaim. Junior midfielder Alyssa Ibanez (San Antonio/Judson) and senior defender Caitlin Roach (Houston/Manvel) were named All-SCAC honorable mention. Additionally, forward Naiema Almaraz(Danbury/Angleton) and midfielders Alejandra Lopez and Jocelyn Lugo (San Antonio/Lee) were named to the All-SCAC Freshman Team.
Johnson earns his second SCAC coaching honor in as many years after guiding TLU to the regular season conference title with an unbeaten 8-0 SCAC record. Johnson’s Bulldogs, who are currently on an eight-game winning streak, compiled a 14-3 regular season record. TLU ranks first in the SCAC in goals scored (41), shutouts (9), shots (324), and shots on goal (172). This is the third SCAC and fourth overall Coach of the Year honor bestowed upon a TLU women’s soccer coach. Johnson joins Trinity’s Dylan Harrison, Lance Key, and Nick Cowell as the only coaches to win Coach of the Year honors in back-to-back years. Johnson currently ranks ninth all-time in SCAC wins while his .857 SCAC winning percentage ranks fourth all-time.
One season after becoming TLU’s first ever conference Defensive Player of the Year, she becomes just the third player in conference history to win multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards, joining Trinity’s Kristen Canepa (2018-19) and Bailey Meyer (2021-23). The Cibolo native has started and played 16 games, leading the Bulldogs to a conference-best nine shutouts and a 0.82 goals against average. Under her leadership, TLU has allowed an average of 8.7 shots per game. Ajel has earned All-SCAC honors in each of her three years.
Cortez is TLU’s fifth straight Offensive Player of the Year, the second longest streak in the conference’s history. The senior from Edinburg, also earns her fourth career all-conference nod with this being her first career first team honor. She was a second team selection as a sophomore and junior and was a member of the All-Freshman team as a freshman. This season, Cortez leads the Bulldogs and ranks first in the SCAC in goals scored (15) and ranks second in the SCAC with a team-high 31 points. Cortez leads all of NCAA Division-III with eight game-winners in 2026. She dominated the SCAC Offensive Player of the Week award this season, winning it four times.
Emma Alvarado earns first team honors for the first time in her career after missing all of the 2025 season due to injury. The Austin native, who was an All-Freshman Team member in 2024, has scored a career-high three goals this season and has seven points. Alvarado has started all 17 games in her return to the pitch.
Noblett elevated to first team All-SCAC status after being second team as a sophomore a year ago. The San Antonio native has started every game of her TLU career, entering the postseason with 55 games played and started. This season, she has scored two goals with an assist.
Marquez, from Miami, FL, receives first team honors for the first time in her career. The SCAC’s goals against average leader (0.64) did not concede a goal in SCAC play this season, finishing with 6.0 shutouts in SCACplay. She has made 38 saves on the year and is just four saves away from becoming the fourth goalkeeper in program history to reach 200 career saves. Marquez was instrumental in the Bulldogs shutout victory over then-No. 14 Cal Lutheran, making seven saves to earn SCAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. Marquez is the first TLU goalkeeper to earn All-SCAC first team honors since Erin Rose in 2014.
Makenzie Ivie makes her first appearance on the All-SCAC team, earning second team honors. The SCAC’s assist leader with eight assists has started 16 of her 17 games played this season and scored two goals.
In her first season with the Bulldogs, Alejandra Lopez made an instant impact – earning second team honors. The El Paso native has started 16 games, contributing to the nine shutouts defensively while scoring five goals and dishing out three assists.
Sitachitta, a junior from Spring, receives her first All-SCAC nod, being selected to the second team. Sitachitta has started all 17 games for the Bulldogs for the Bulldogs and leads the Bulldogs with over 1400 minutes played. Along with contributing to nine shutouts, she scored her first career goal this season.
With their All-SCAC honorable mention selections, Ibanez earns her first All-SCAChonor while Roach earns her fourth. Both accounted for one goal on the season as they split time as starters in 2026.
Almaraz, Lopez, and Lugo all make an appearance on the all-freshman team. Almarazburst on the scene, scoring in her first two collegiate games, and has appeared in all 17 games. Lugo became a standout late in the season, scoring all three of her goals in the final two weeks of the season.
For all updates on Texas Lutheran Women’s Soccer, follow @tluwsoc on X (Twitter) and Instagram and as always you can find updates on all Texas Lutheran athletics on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics on X (Twitter), @tlu_athletics on Instagram, and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).