ORLANDO – A prestigious group of UCF women’s soccer players were selected to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team, announced Tuesday. For the third consecutive season, five Knights were recognized for their academic and athletic achievement by receiving the esteemed award.
The 2024-25 Academic All-District® Women’s Soccer teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. To be eligible for the award, one must be a sophomore or greater academically and athletically, obtain a 3.5 cumulative GPA or higher, play in 90% of the team’s matches during the season or start 66% of the matches on the year.
The five Knights to earn Academic All-District honors this year were seniors Annika Huhta, Taylor Jacobson and Caitlyn Matthews, redshirt junior Mia Asenjo, and sophomore Honoka Hamano.
Three of five were named to the 2024 CSC Academic All-District Team for the second time in their respective careers in Asenjo, Jacobson and Matthews.
A 2024 team captain, Asenjo, was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team for her second time in her collegiate career. In the 2024 season, Asenjo started and played in all 15 matches, scoring two goals and achieving a career-high of three assists. Asenjo was also named to an Academic All-Big 12 honoree in 2023 and the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll in 2022 for her academic achievements as a human communications major.
A hospitality management major, Jacobson too was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team for the second time, as she previously received the honor in 2022 while playing for the South Carolina Gamecocks. During the Fall 2024 season, Jacobson started in all 15 games and played 90 minutes in eight of those matches. She scored her first collegiate goal on the season versus Houston, where she also earned Big 12 Conference Defender of the Week recognition for her outstanding performance that led the Knights to a 5-0 win. Jacobson is a two-time SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll performer.
Matthews, a kinesiology major, was tabbed as a member of the 2023 and 2024 CSC Academic All-District Team. She played in a total of 14 matches on the year with seven starts. Matthews tallied an assist in UCF’s season-opening victory over FAU and logged a total 517 minutes on the pitch. Matthews has also been named to the American Athletic Conference Honor Roll two times as well as the Big 12 Academic Team once throughout her collegiate career.
Huhta and Hamano were both named to the team for the first time in their collegiate careers, scoring on the field and in the classroom.
A 2024 team captain, Huhta started 14 out of the 15 games she played in on the season for the Knights and registered a career high of minutes in action with 1231 on season. The psychology major impressively recorded a career-highs in nearly every statistic, achieving one goal and assisting three times. She also earned the Fall Academic All-Big 12 Team honors in 2023 and American Athletic Conference Academic Honor Roll recognition in 2022.
This fall, Hamano started 12 of the 13 games she played in. The pre-integrated business major scored two goals and led the team in assists with four. Hamano also finished second on the team in points with eight and took a total of 14 shots on the year.
To view the full 2024 Women’s Soccer Academic All-District Team, click here.