The Midwest Conference announced the 2021 All-MWC Women's Soccer Teams on Friday and five Foresters were listed among the league's best, including a first team selection at each level on the field.
Highlighting the awards for Lake Forest was goalkeeper Maggie Kersting, who was named MWC Defensive Player of the Year. The senior went 5-1-1 with a 0.29 goals against average and contributed to six shutouts during league play. She also stopped 26 of 28 shots on goal for a stellar .929 save percentage against conference foes. Kersting, who was a Second Team All-MWC selection two years ago, is now 20-9-2 with 10 shutouts and a 0.85 goals against average in her collegiate career.
In addition to Kersting, another reason the Foresters boasted the league's best goals against average was the play of freshman central defender Krissy Kuwahara. Lake Forest blanked seven of eight opponents during MWC play and Kuwahara, a First Team All-MWC selection, was on the field for 752 of 759 minutes in those games.
Junior Alyssa Xanos was also a First Team All-MWC honoree earning nine points on two goals and a league-leading five assists during MWC play. She had at least one point in five of eight conference games and accounted for the only goal in a 1-0 triumph at Monmouth. Xanos finished with 15 points on four goals and a team-high seven assists in the Foresters' 17 games overall.
Lake Forest's leading scorer in 2021 was senior forward Julia Larson, who tied for second in the MWC with five goals and 11 points in eight conference games. Four of those scores gave the Foresters a 1-0 lead. Larson finished the season with eight goals and 17 points overall and her five official game-winning goals matched the fifth-highest total in team history.
The Foresters' only Second Team All-MWC player was senior defender Alexa Kotsovos. Like Kuwahara, Kotsovos played nearly every minute and helped her team blank seven of eight opponents during the conference season.
After posting a 6-1-1 record in conference play and finishing second in the standings, Lake Forest led the league with four First Team All-MWC honorees. That was also the program's highest total since the conference switched from divisional to full round-robin play in 1997.
