UNCW Women's Soccer Earns Eight All-CAA Honors, Four Major Awards

The numbers tell the story before the trophies do: an 11-0-7 regular season record. UNCW’s women’s soccer team didn’t just capture the Colonial Athletic Association regular season title this fall—they rewrote the conference record books while doing it, finishing as the first team in CAA history to complete a regular season unbeaten. Now the silverware has caught up with the results, as uncwsports.com reported that eight Seahawks earned postseason honors, highlighted by four major individual awards that cemented Wilmington’s place at the top of the conference.

This isn’t merely a good season; it’s a historic one. Head coach Chris Neal, who earned his second consecutive CAA Coach of the Year honor and third of his coaching career, guided UNCW to an 11-0-7 overall record and a 6-0-3 mark in conference play—making the Seahawks only the second team in league history to post back-to-back unbeaten conference records after finishing 7-0-2 in 2025. The recognition spans the entire roster, from a redshirt junior who buried five game-winning goals to a freshman who twice took home Rookie of the Week honors.

Longwell Dominates Scoring Records

At the top of the awards list stands Hailey Longwell, the redshirt junior forward who became the latest Seahawk to win back-to-back CAA Co-Attacking Player of the Year awards. Longwell led the team in goals (eight), shots (52), shots on goal (26) and game-winning goals (five) during the regular season. Her knack for clutch moments showed up early and often, including CAA Offensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 12 after netting goals within the opening four minutes of both a 2-1 victory over Towson and a 3-0 win against Drexel.

Allie Planeaux earned her second All-CAA selection, this time as the 2026 CAA Midfielder of the Year. The junior started every single match for the Seahawks and led both UNCW and the entire conference with nine assists, helping the Seahawks pace the CAA in goals this season. She ranks third on the team in shots (41) and fourth in shots on goal (15), and she stands as one of only four CAA players to record more than 11 points this season.

On the defensive end, junior Alyssa Chuderewicz shared the Co-Defensive Player of the Year award after logging the most minutes of any player on the entire roster. She anchored a back line that limited opponents to just 12 goals all season—only six of those coming during conference play—while holding opposing teams to 144 shots. Chuderewicz also contributed at the other end, recording nine shots of her own and adding an assist in UNCW’s 6-0 victory over Hampton.

All three standouts—Longwell, Planeaux and Chuderewicz—also earned spots on the All-CAA First Team.

Depth Across the Roster Earns Third-Team Recognition

The honors didn’t stop with the headline names. Forward Caigan Leonard garnered All-CAA Third Team honors after placing second on the squad in goals (seven), shots (44) and shots on goal (20). Leonard kicked off the campaign in fine form, earning CAA Offensive Player of the Week recognition during the first week after scoring against Appalachian State in the season opener and tallying within the first two minutes against Western Carolina to help the Seahawks start the year 2-0.

Junior midfielder Ava Vaughan also made the All-CAA Third Team after recording the second-most assists (seven) and fourth-most goals (four) on the squad. Vaughan was flawless from the penalty mark, making both of her tries—more than any teammate—scoring in the 3-0 season-opening win over Appalachian State and the 2-1 victory over Towson, where her goal turned out to be the game-winner.

In goal, junior Lili White rounded out the Third Team selections with a season that had her ranked second nationally in goals-against average and third in save percentage during the week of Oct. 1. Following a season of sharing goalkeeping duties, White ended with 27 saves on 67 shots faced while conceding only three goals, topping the entire CAA with a 0.32 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage.

Freshman Kamrey Watkins Makes Immediate Impact

Perhaps no story from this awards class is more compelling than that of freshman Kamrey Watkins, who earned postseason recognition following an impressive debut season. Watkins appeared in more games than any other freshman on the roster, starting 15 times while netting four goals—the third-highest total on the squad—and registering 25 shots, 17 of which were on goal. She also helped the Seahawks lead the CAA in corner kicks with 134.

Watkins was the only Seahawk to earn multiple CAA weekly honors this season, being named CAA Rookie of the Week on Sept. 13 after recording a goal and an assist in a 2-0 road victory over Charlotte. She received the award once more on Oct. 20 after finding the net in the 51st minute of a 4-0 win over Charleston that clinched the Seahawks’ South Division title. In that Charleston match, she also assisted on Leonard’s goal and drew a penalty kick that Meg Umemoto converted.

National Standing and the Road to the Semifinals

As a team, UNCW’s dominance shows up in the national statistics too: the Seahawks rank 12th in the country with 43 goals, 21st with 40 assists and 18th with 123 points. But the regular season is only the opening act. As the No. 1 overall seed, UNCW will host the 2026 CAA Semifinals on Sunday, Nov. 8, at 1 p.m. at UNCW Soccer Stadium, facing either No. 2 seed Elon or No. 3 seed William & Mary.

Whether this talented group can become the first in program history to win a conference championship remains the open question hanging over a season that has already delivered unprecedented success.

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