NATCHITOCHES—To the victor go the spoils, as they say.

After taking home the regular season Southland Conference championship, Emily Senatore took home both the SLC Player of the Year and Midfielder of the Year, highlighting four Demons earning superlative awards and a total of seven collecting all-conference recognition, the league announced Monday.

In addition to Senatore winning both the player and midfielder of the year, Hosane Soukou (Freshman of the Year), Jessica Spitzer (Defensive Player of the Year) and Ian Brophy (Coach of the Year) all earned superlative honors.

Along with Senatore, Soukou and Spitzer, forward Paige Baumgartner and midfielder Riley Stern were also named to the first team.

Goalkeeper Kennedy Rist and defender Emma Pethel were named to the second team.

Senatore, a junior from Oxford, Conn., earned the school's third conference player of the year award in the last five seasons after Olivia Draguicevich won it in 2021 and Gracie Armstrong in 2022.

Her season started with a bang, scoring two goals in an upset victory at then-No. 19 Texas, including the game-winning goal in the 72^nd minute.

It was the first of three multi-goal games for Senatore on the season, including a hat trick against Prairie View A&M.

She also had two goals against Southeastern Louisiana, including finding the back of the net in the 84^th minute to win 2-1.

Senatore's goals are impactful, as she has six game-winning goals this season, tied for second nationally.

Overall, her 12 goals are tied for conference lead and tied for 22^nd in the nation and her 25 points are tied for 42^nd nationally.

Her 12 goals ties Kayce Schultz for the seventh-most in a single season in NSU history, while her 23 career goals ties N-Club Hall of Famer Hillarie Marshall Coleman for eighth in school history.

It is her second consecutive first team honor.

Soukou became the fourth Demon to win the conference freshman of the year honors, joining Stephanie O'Neil (1997), N-Club Hall of Famer Heather Penico (2002) and current NSU graduate assistant Caroline Hilliard (2021).

While Senatore scored the first and the last goal in the upset at Texas, Soukou found the equalizer in the 61^st minute to tie the game at 2-2 to set up Senatore for the winner.

Soukou has six goals and five assists for 17 points, which is tied for fifth in the Southland this season.

Defensively, Spitzer is the second NSU player to ever win the SLC Defensive Player of the Year. She joins former teammate Nicole Henry, who won it three times.

She led a defense that helped surrender the fewest goals overall and in SLC games and allowed single digit shots in eight of the 10 league games. Spitzer is a leader from the back line and earned one conference defensive player of the week award this season.

The senior from Allen, Texas, also found the back of the net in the 1-1 draw against UL Lafayette.

It is her second consecutive all-conference selection, earning second team honors last season.

Brophy received a well-deserved coach of the year honor, as he guided the Demons to their third regular season championship and first ever win against a ranked team with the season-opening victory at Texas.

He is the fourth NSU coach to win the conference award, joining Pete Watkins, Jimmy Mitchell (2x) and Stuart Gore.

Joining Senatore, Soukou and Spitzer on the first team are Stern and Baumgartner.

Baumgartner, a redshirt junior from Rowlett, Texas, finished the regular season on a high note, recording a goal and assist in the victory at Nicholls to clinch the outright title.

She scored in four of the final five games of the regular season and is third in the conference in goals (8) and tied for third in the SLC in points (18).

The player she is tied with in points is none other than her teammate, Stern.

Stern's eight total assists are tied for the conference lead and tied for 31^st nationally.

She finished off the regular season in style, scoring a pair of goals at Nicholls to give her a career-high five this season.

Pethel and Rist earned their first ever all-conference awards, earning second team honors.

Rist, a redshirt junior from Palm Harbor, Fla., won a conference-best four goalkeeper of the week awards this season.

She leads the Southland in overall goals against average (.673) and save percentage (.851) and Southland goals against average (.508) and save percentage (.872).

Rist's season wins for a keeper (11) is tied for fourth and her eight shutouts are tied for third in program history for a single season.

Pethel, a sophomore from Canton, Ga., helped lead a back line that has posted 10 shutouts, playing nearly every minute of every conference game.

A corner kick specialist, she has recorded two assists, including one on Spitzer's goal against UL Lafayette.

NSU's five first team selections are the most of any team and the seven total selections are second, only to Stephen F. Austin's eight.

Next up for NSU is the SLC Tournament, which begins Tuesday on the campus of Lamar. The Demons take the field at 1 p.m. against in-state rival McNeese.
 
Superlatives
Player of the Year — Emily Senatore, Northwestern State
Newcomer of the Year — Lauren Smith, Lamar
Freshman of the Year — Hosane Soukou, Northwestern State
Coach of the Year — Ian Brophy, Northwestern State
 
Forward of the Year — Lauren Smith, Lamar
Midfielder of the Year — Emily Senatore, Northwestern State
Defender of the Year — Jessica Spitzer, Northwestern State
Goalkeeper of the Year — Sierra McCluer, SFA
 
First Team
F – Lauren Smith, Lamar
F – Paige Baumgartner, Northwestern State
F – Hosane Soukou, Northwestern State
F – Hannah Bell, East Texas A&M
M – Emily Senatore, Northwestern State
M – Alexis Miller, SFA
M – Brielle Buchanan, SFA
M – Riley Stern, Northwestern State
D – Jessica Spitzer, Northwestern State
D – Alexia Murillo, HCU
D – Bryn Geppert, SFA
D – Alexi Pitt, McNeese
GK – Sierra McCluer, SFA
 
Second Team
F – Mya Mitchell, East Texas A&M
F – Taylor Dodson, SFA
F – Logan Heausler, SFA
F – Sinead Duffy, UIW
M – Mai-Lisa Atis, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
M – Kam Jalayer, Lamar
M – Sydney Williams, Lamar
M – Alana Lawless-Felarca, East Texas A&M
D – Emma Pethel, Northwestern State
D – Sydney Williams, SFA
D – Malaya Ring, East Texas A&M
D – Avery Brandt, SFA
GK – Kennedy Rist, Northwestern State