The Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) released its 2024 Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll on Tuesday, Feb. 20, with the Penn State Altoona Lions predicted to finish third in the conference standings. Utility player Cameryn Feathers, of Martinsburg, was selected as the league’s Preseason Player of the Year.
NORTH BOSTON, N.Y. — The Penn State Altoona women’s soccer team had three of its student-athletes voted to the All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference team, which was announced on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Forward Mallorie Smith, of Bellefonte, was voted first-team All-AMCC; defender Rachel Rutkowski, of Canonsburg, was a second-team pick; and forward Camryn Kurilla, of Mount Wolf, was selected to the third team.
Penn State Altoona soccer player Mallorie Smith
Smith started all 18 games for the Lions and continued to be one of the top offensive players in the conference during her senior season. The forward led the AMCC in shots on goal (52) this season while also being second in goals scored (15) and shot attempts (76), third in points (32), and fifth in game-winning goals (two). Smith set a program single-game record for goals on Sept. 23, when she found the back of the net six times in a win over Wells College. She was twice named the AMCC’s Offensive Player of the Week during the season, earning the honor on both Sept. 25 and Oct. 23.
Penn State Altoona soccer player Rachel Rutkowski
Rutkowski helped anchor Penn State Altoona’s defense in this year’s campaign, during which she made 17 starts. The defender was particularly effective for the Lions in one-on-one and counterattacking situations, and she was part of a defensive unit that helped post three shutouts in AMCC play and four shutouts overall. Rutkowski also registered one assist this season.
Penn State Altoona soccer player Camryn Kurilla
Kurilla had a career year for the Lions in her final season, during which she played in all 18 games, starting 17 of them. Among all players in the AMCC, the forward ranked eighth in assists (six), 13th in game-winning goals (one) and shots on goal (22), 14th in shots attempted (35), 21st in points (14), and 29th in goals scored (four).
For Smith, this marks her third selection to an AMCC All-Conference team, including the second year in a row that she has taken first-team honors. Rutkowski and Kurilla are both first-time all-conference picks.
Penn State Altoona women’s soccer was 5-11-2 overall this season, including going 4-4-1 in the AMCC. The Lions earned a berth into the conference postseason tournament as the No. 6 seed, winning their first-round game and reaching the semifinals.
