The 2024 season for the Emory University women's soccer team will be remembered as one of the strongest single seasons by a team in program history as the Eagles turned in an overall record of 14-4-4 and advanced to the NCAA Final Four for only the second time ever.
Mixed with veteran leadership and standout underclassmen, Emory battled through one of the toughest schedules in the country to reach the season's final weekend for the first time since 2012.
Sophomore Kaitlyn Nimmer became the 13th All-American in team history as her dynamic season saw her finish with team-leading totals of 11 goals, nine assists and 31 points. The fourth-team All-American was one of four Eagles to be lauded on the United Soccer Coaches' All-Region list and was one of three members of the team to secure All-University Athletic Association First Team honors.
With Nimmer's prowess as well as standout contributions from first-years Mikayla Camp (9G, 8A) and Emory Bozzuti (5G, 1A) as well as sophomores Emily Woodall (7G, 2A) and Madison Teng (4G, 3A), the Eagles were among the nation's leaders in offensive categories.
On the other side of the ball, junior Michelle Davidson headlined Emory's stingy defensive unit as the Eagles ended the year 36th nationally with a 0.61 goals-against average. Davidson joined Nimmer and Camp as All-Region selections and became the sixth player in program history to earn league MVP acclaim and the first to be tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Year.
Seniors Chayse Corfman and Claudia Schmidt both played an instrumental role as team captains, lifting the Eagles to their most wins in a season since 2018, and were honored with Corfman's All-Region Second Team and All-UAA First Team selections while Schmidt garnered All-UAA Honorable Mention.
Emory's regular season started with the team rattling off six wins over the first seven contests, outscoring opponents 23-2 during the wins to go along with four clean sheets, with the lone defeat coming by the hands of Christopher Newport, 1-0 – another program that ultimately reached Division III's biggest stage in Las Vegas at the end of the season.
After going 6-1 in the month of September, the Eagles started October 0-1-1 at home with results to Sewanee and the eventual national champions, WashU, before ripping off three consecutive shutouts including a home win over previously unbeaten and 11th-ranked Case Western Reserve.
Closing out the regular season against members of the vaunted UAA where all programs were ranked or receiving votes at the time of the match, the Eagles pulled out a 2-1-2 record with wins over Brandeis and Chicago and drew an NCAA at-large bid with a record of 11-3-3.
For the second time in three seasons, the Eagles were selected as opening round hosts and capitalized on their home field advantage as Emory toppled Meredith, 6-0, and Pacific Lutheran, 1-0, to advance to the second weekend for the second time in three years and sixth time during the Sue Patberg era.
With a trip to Dubuque, Iowa up next, the Eagles tapped into their stellar defense to power them to the national semifinals. In the Sweet 16 matchup against the host Loras Duhawks, Woodall notched the lone goal in regulation, but it was not enough as the teams went to penalty kicks deadlocked at 1-1. Following four successful attempts by the Eagles, junior Sophia Garcia came through with the biggest save of her career to send the Blue & Gold onto the quarterfinals.
In the Elite Eight versus Amherst, Garcia came up clutch once again for the Eagles with two massive saves in the very early stages of the contest, including another penalty kick stop in the opening minute of the game. With the score knotted at 0-0, Teng punched home Emory's decisive marker in the 38th minute and the defense locked down for the remainder of the game to send the Eagles to Sin City.
Emory made the trek to Las Vegas along with CNU, WashU and William Smith in search of hoisting the Walnut & Bronze trophy. In the semifinals, the Eagles were pitted against the Herons of William Smith. The Eagles outshot WSC 18-8 including a 4-3 edge in shots on goal but a pair of goals by the Herons in the early moments of the second half unfortunately put a stop to Emory's dream run.
The Final Four run headlined the program's sixth straight appearance in the NCAA tournament – the longest postseason streak in team history. Thirteen different players scored at least one goal throughout the season while the defense recorded 12 clean sheets.
The Eagles earned the following awards in the 2024 season.
