Cassie Nash (L) was named the 2022 Offensive MVP and Jeremy Reinert (R) was voted Coach of the Year by the American Rivers Conference

Posted: Nov 10, 2022

Nash, Reinert headline women’s soccer all-conference awards

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Cassie Nash was named Offensive MVP, Jeremy Reinert earned his second Coach of the Year honor, and the Simpson College women's soccer team placed seven total athletes on the 2022 All-American Rivers Conference Team.

Nash is Simpson's first major award winner on the all-conference ballot since Ashley Curran took home MVP honors in 2006. The conference began naming offensive and defensive players of the year during the 2013 season as opposed to a most valuable player. Along with Curran, Alicia Vegas (1997, 1999), Tracie Whitney (2000) and Erin Goettl (2001) were previous MVP honorees for the Storm.

Reinert, who was also named Coach of the Year in 2019, becomes the first head coach in program history to earn the award more than once. Reinert coached alongside Joe Waithanji, Mackenzie Dicken, Francis Lee and Chloe Wetzbarger this season.

Along with Nash, Lizzie Arnburg, Hailey Kowzan, Megan Roberts and Brissa Valadez were all named first team all-conference. Abby Cozzoni and Lani Mears earned honorable mention recognition.

The Storm concluded the 2022 campaign with a 12-6-1 overall record and 6-2 mark in conference play to rank third in league standings. Simpson advanced to the A-R-C Championship for the first time in 13 seasons, ultimately falling to top-seeded Loras.

Jeremy Reinert, Co-Coach of the Year

Becomes first coach in program history to earn multiple coach of the year honors
Guided the Storm to a 12-6-1 overall record and 6-2 mark in A-R-C action
Coached Simpson to the conference tournament championship for the first time since 2009
His squad ranked first in the conference with 34 goals in league play, the most by one team since 2011

Cassie Nash, Offensive MVP

Senior forward from Lincoln, Neb.
Becomes first major award winner for Simpson since 2006
Earned her third straight all-conference honor after being named first team the last two years
Led the conference and ranked sixth in the nation with 24 total goals
Also topped the conference with 55 points (8th in DIII) and eight game-winning goals (t-1st in DIII)
Scored 14 goals against A-R-C opponents, the most by anyone in the conference since 2004
Had seven multi-goal games including four in conference play
Found the back of the net five times in a 5-3 win at Luther and recorded a second hat trick in a 5-1 win over Dubuque
Named A-R-C Offensive Player of the Week four times and United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Week once

Lizzie Arnburg, First Team

Senior midfielder from Earlham, Iowa
Earned her second straight first team all-conference award
Started all 19 matches for the Storm, totaling 1316 minutes
Had an assist in Simpson's 5-3 win at Luther
Scored the team's lone goal in the A-R-C Championship at Loras, the only goal allowed by the Duhawks against a conference opponent this season
Helped the team finish third in the conference with 10 goals against in league play

Abby Cozzoni, Honorable Mention

Senior defender from Wentzville, Mo.
Named honorable mention after earning first team honors last season
Started all 19 matches and led the team with 1451 minutes played
Recorded an assist in Simpson's 7-0 win over Buena Vista
Helped the Storm defense post six shutouts and a 1.36 goals against average (4th in A-R-C)

Hailey Kowzan, First Team

Junior midfielder from Pella, Iowa
Started 18 games and played 1274 minutes
Tied for fifth in the league and first on the team with seven assists
Recorded two assists in Simpson's 5-1 win over Dubuque
Added two goals for a season point total of 11

Lani Mears, Honorable Mention

Senior goalkeeper from Burlington, Iowa
Named honorable mention in her first season with the Storm
Logged 1402:40 minutes in goal, making 16 starts in 17 appearances
Finished the year with an 11-4-1 record
Posted a 1.15 goals against average
Recorded two shutouts and four combined shutouts
Named A-R-C Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 31

Megan Roberts, First Team

Senior forward from Norwalk, Iowa
Named first team for the second consecutive season
Played 17 matches with 11 starts
Tied for third on the team with six goals (all scored during the conference slate) and 15 points
Recorded the Storm's first hat trick since September 2017 in a 6-1 win at Central
Assisted three goals on the year

Brissa Valadez, First Team

Freshman forward from Des Moines, Iowa
Played in all 19 matches as a freshman, starting 18 games and logging 1233 minutes
Ranked second on the team in goals (7) and points (19)
Also tied for second in assists (5) and shots on goal (22)
Had two game winners, including one in a 6-1 win at Central when she also tallied an assist
Became the highest-scoring freshman for Simpson since 2011