MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Five members of the West Virginia University women's soccer team have been named to the 2024 All-Big 12 Teams, the league announced on Tuesday.
 
Leading the way for the Mountaineers were fifth-year senior midfielder Lilly McCarthy and senior defender Annika Leslie on the First Team. The first-team accolade is the first for both McCarthy and Leslie, while McCarthy's All-Big 12 selection marks the second of her career after she was recognized on the All-Freshman Team in 2020.
 
Fifth-year senior midfielder AJ Rodriguez and junior forward Taylor White were recognized on the Second Team, marking the second career honor for Rodriguez and the first for White. Rounding out WVU's All-Big 12 honors was redshirt freshman defender Gianna Koss on the All-Freshman Team, earning her first career honor.
 
An anchor for the WVU back line, Leslie leads the team with 1,560 minutes played so far this season. She has helped the Mountaineer defense tally eight shutouts, starting all 18 regular-season contests. A native of Halifax, Nova Scotia, she also has made a name for herself on the offense this year, with one goal and four assists. All four assists have come on set pieces, while three of those were corner kicks. She scored her lone goal of the year directly from a corner kick against Liberty on Sept. 8, scoring her second career Olimpico goal.
 
McCarthy leads the Mountaineers with six assists this season, a single-season career high for the Baltimore, Maryland, native. She surpassed 30 career points with her assist in the regular-season finale at Houston on Oct. 25. McCarthy also has scored four goals this season and has 14 points on the year, ranking third on the team in both categories. Additionally, she ranks seventh in the Big 12 in assists and assists per game (0.33).
 
Rodriguez is tied with McCarthy for third on the team with four goals this season. She ranks fifth on the team with 1,134 minutes played and has started all 18 matches for the Mountaineers so far this year. The Austin, Texas, native is just three points shy of 30 in her career, with 12 goals and three assists during her five years playing for WVU.
 
A Cincinnati, Ohio, native, White is just off her first career Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week nod, which she earned on Oct. 28, after scoring her second brace of the season in a 4-1 win over Houston on Oct. 25. She is now tied for the team lead with seven goals this season, while she ranks second on the team with 17 points. White also has notched three assists so far this year.
 
Koss started all 18 regular-season matches in her first season with the Mountaineers, currently ranking fourth on the squad with 1,351 minutes. She also has notched one goal and one assist for WVU this year. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native earned her first career Big 12 Freshman of the Week honor on Oct. 23, after helping the WVU back line earn a shutout over Colorado on Oct. 20.
 
With this year's selections, West Virginia's total number of All-Big 12 accolades moves to 84 all-time since the Mountaineers joined the Big 12 Conference in 2012.
 
West Virginia now looks ahead to the 2024 Sprouts Farmers Market Big 12 Championship, set for Oct. 30 – Nov. 9 at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. As the No. 3 seed, WVU has earned a first-round bye and will face the winner of a first-round match between No. 6 Kansas vs. No. 11 Arizona State in the quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 9 p.m. ET.
 
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