Daytona Beach, FL – Region 8 announced its women’s soccer postseason honors with Wakaba Kogure being named the Region’s Player of the Year to highlight Daytona State’s honorees.

Sophia Varga was named Freshman of the Year and Head Coach, Hope H. Clark picked up Co-Coach of the Year for the Falcons share of the first-place finish in regular season.

Six Falcons earned All-Region praise, including Kogure, Varga, Dejionee Anderson, Arianna Kinsley, Akari Kishida all on the first team. Mariona Gamez was named Honorable Mention.

Kogure becomes the first Daytona State player to earn the Player of the Year award since she was named freshman of the year in 2022. The Falcons have now taken home Freshman of the Year two years in a row.

A sophomore, Kogure had seven goals, seven assists and 21 points on the year and led the team in shots on goal percentage with .694. She started all 16 matches and is the second straight year Kogure has garnered First Team All-Region praise.

Varga, a freshman, finds herself on the first team after garnering Freshman of the Year. The defender contributed to a program high 11 shutouts and 0.63 goals against average.

Earning first team honors for the first time in her career is Anderson, a staple on the Daytona State back line which only conceded 10 goals. The sophomore started 15 games and had two goals on the year.

One of the country’s top forwards, Kinsley earned first-team honors in her first year as a Falcon. A Division I transfer, Kinsley led the team in goals, points, shots, and game winning goals. Kinsley scored twelve goals and had one assist for 25 points. She had six game winning goals on the season.

For the second straight year, Kishida finds herself on the first team. Kishida recorded seven goals and seven assists for 21 points. Kishida had three game winning goals on the season, her most notable one being the game winner in the Region 8 Semi-final game against Polk State.

Freshman newcomer, Gamez earned her first postseason award for the Falcons being named Honorable Mention All-Region 8.

Coach Clark earned Coach of the Year for the second straight season. This year she shares the title with Scott Carswell of Eastern Florida. Both teams finished first in regular season play with a Region 8 record of 4-1 and splitting head-to-head.

The Falcons closed their season in the Region 8 Finals. The 2023 season made program history in many ways. The Falcons finished 14-2, recorded a record eleven shutouts and had a 12-0 winning streak. Daytona State was ranked in the NJCAA Top 10 all season and spent four straight weeks at #4. The Falcons finished the season with a final NJCAA National Ranking of #7.

Media Design Credit to Alexandra Draper