First Team Denigan Leads All-SEC Honors
ATHENS, Ga. – Led by All-Southeastern Conference honors for its three team captains, the University of Georgia soccer team received five postseason conference honors Thursday morning, as announced by the league office in Birmingham.
Redshirt junior midfielder Summer Denigan was named to the First Team All-SEC, while junior midfielder Kiera Staude and senior defender Cate Hardin received Second Team All-SEC honors. Goalkeeper Hannah Folliard and forward Mya Townes were recognized as SEC All-Freshman Team honorees.
In 2023, Denigan was previously named SEC Co-Freshman of the Year and was placed on the Second Team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman Team, while Staude was also an All-Freshman honoree. This is the first SEC postseason honor for Hardin, Folliard, and Townes.
Denigan put together one of the strongest offensive seasons in program history, ranking third in the SEC with 10 goals, with four of them proving to be match winners. Her output made her the program’s first double-digit scorer since Mollie Belisle in 2021. The Union, Kentucky native has started all 18 matches this season, tallying nearly 1,400 minutes on the field. Along with goals, she leads the team in shots (49) and shots on goal (22). During the season, she was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week after her winner took down No. 12 North Carolina, while also being named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List and TopDrawerSoccer Midseason Top 100 Players List (No. 19).
Staude has produced a career year as the leader of the Bulldogs’ midfield, ranking second on the team with six goals along with two assists. She leads all field players in minutes with 1,451 and has started all 18 matches. Earlier this season, the Atlanta native posted her first career hat trick against North Florida and scored Georgia’s lone goal in a 1-1 tie against LSU.
Hardin has been a critical member of the Bulldogs throughout the season, starting in all 18 matches and ranking second on the team with 1,441 field minutes. The Marietta native opened SEC play with her second career goal at Texas A&M and assisted freshman forward Ava Stack on her winning goal against Kentucky, a result that proved to help secure Georgia’s first round bye at the SEC Tournament. With two more assists at Ole Miss, Hardin became the first Bulldog to post at least four assists in SEC play since 2006. For her efforts, she was twice named to the TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week.
Folliard has been invaluable for Georgia, stepping into the goalkeeper role at age 17 following the preseason injury to Jordan Brown. The Plainfield, Illinois native has started in all matches, totaling 1,508 minutes and helping the Bulldogs earn results in 15 of 18 contests. She has allowed only 13 goals and has posted a 0.78 goals against average for the season that currently ranks second in program history. Additionally, she has tallied 33 saves and posted five individual shutouts, while assisting on three others. She turned in a pair of critical stops to help preserve Georgia’s first-ever win over North Carolina and opened SEC play with two consecutive shutouts, earning her the No. 42 spot on TopDrawerSoccer’s Midseason Top 100 Freshmen List.
Townes has been a consistent presence at the top of Georgia’s attack, appearing in all 18 matches with 17 starts. The Aldie, Virginia native’s first goal for the Bulldogs came at an opportune time as she equalized at Washington State to force a 1-1 draw. Townes also assisted Hardin on her winning goal at Texas A&M and scored the winner herself in Georgia’s 1-0 upset win over No. 6 Arkansas, earning both a win over the eventual regular season champions and the program’s first home victory over a top 10 opponent in 10 seasons. After the Arkansas win, she was named SEC Freshman of the Week.
No. 17 Georgia begins its SEC Tournament run in the quarterfinals against either Kentucky or Florida on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 3 p.m. EST in Pensacola, Florida. The match will air live on SEC Network.
Redshirt junior midfielder Summer Denigan was named to the First Team All-SEC, while junior midfielder Kiera Staude and senior defender Cate Hardin received Second Team All-SEC honors. Goalkeeper Hannah Folliard and forward Mya Townes were recognized as SEC All-Freshman Team honorees.
In 2023, Denigan was previously named SEC Co-Freshman of the Year and was placed on the Second Team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman Team, while Staude was also an All-Freshman honoree. This is the first SEC postseason honor for Hardin, Folliard, and Townes.
Denigan put together one of the strongest offensive seasons in program history, ranking third in the SEC with 10 goals, with four of them proving to be match winners. Her output made her the program’s first double-digit scorer since Mollie Belisle in 2021. The Union, Kentucky native has started all 18 matches this season, tallying nearly 1,400 minutes on the field. Along with goals, she leads the team in shots (49) and shots on goal (22). During the season, she was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week after her winner took down No. 12 North Carolina, while also being named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List and TopDrawerSoccer Midseason Top 100 Players List (No. 19).
Staude has produced a career year as the leader of the Bulldogs’ midfield, ranking second on the team with six goals along with two assists. She leads all field players in minutes with 1,451 and has started all 18 matches. Earlier this season, the Atlanta native posted her first career hat trick against North Florida and scored Georgia’s lone goal in a 1-1 tie against LSU.
Hardin has been a critical member of the Bulldogs throughout the season, starting in all 18 matches and ranking second on the team with 1,441 field minutes. The Marietta native opened SEC play with her second career goal at Texas A&M and assisted freshman forward Ava Stack on her winning goal against Kentucky, a result that proved to help secure Georgia’s first round bye at the SEC Tournament. With two more assists at Ole Miss, Hardin became the first Bulldog to post at least four assists in SEC play since 2006. For her efforts, she was twice named to the TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week.
Folliard has been invaluable for Georgia, stepping into the goalkeeper role at age 17 following the preseason injury to Jordan Brown. The Plainfield, Illinois native has started in all matches, totaling 1,508 minutes and helping the Bulldogs earn results in 15 of 18 contests. She has allowed only 13 goals and has posted a 0.78 goals against average for the season that currently ranks second in program history. Additionally, she has tallied 33 saves and posted five individual shutouts, while assisting on three others. She turned in a pair of critical stops to help preserve Georgia’s first-ever win over North Carolina and opened SEC play with two consecutive shutouts, earning her the No. 42 spot on TopDrawerSoccer’s Midseason Top 100 Freshmen List.
Townes has been a consistent presence at the top of Georgia’s attack, appearing in all 18 matches with 17 starts. The Aldie, Virginia native’s first goal for the Bulldogs came at an opportune time as she equalized at Washington State to force a 1-1 draw. Townes also assisted Hardin on her winning goal at Texas A&M and scored the winner herself in Georgia’s 1-0 upset win over No. 6 Arkansas, earning both a win over the eventual regular season champions and the program’s first home victory over a top 10 opponent in 10 seasons. After the Arkansas win, she was named SEC Freshman of the Week.
No. 17 Georgia begins its SEC Tournament run in the quarterfinals against either Kentucky or Florida on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 3 p.m. EST in Pensacola, Florida. The match will air live on SEC Network.
2025 SEC Soccer Awards
Coach of the Year: Colby Hale, Arkansas
Forward of the Year: Sydney Watts, Vanderbilt
Midfielder of the Year: Ally Perry, Mississippi State
Defender of the Year: Gracie Falla, South Carolina
Goalkeeper of the Year: Sara Wojdelko, Vanderbilt
Freshman of the Year: Ava McDonald, Texas
Newcomer of the Year: Larkin Thomason, Alabama
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Ally Brown, Tennessee
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