RICHMOND, Va. – Elon senior Grace Gelhaus was named CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year and was one of three Phoenix to earn All-CAA recognition Wednesday as the conference released its postseason women's soccer awards. Gelhaus was also tabbed as an All-CAA First Team selection with Isa Murdock and Gabby Tirado earning All-CAA Second Team honors.
 
After earning Defensive Player of the Year outright last season, Gelhaus shared the honor this season with UNCW's Alyssa Chuderewicz. Gelhaus is the first Phoenix to repeat as a major CAA award winner since Elon joined the conference.
 
Gelhaus leads all Phoenix defenders with seven points this season. She scored a goal in Elon's 6-0 victory at South Carolina State and added five assists, the most by any CAA defender in the regular season. She had a pair of assists against Davidson and also assisted on Megan Dwyer's game-winning goal against Campbell in Elon's conference opener. The senior logged over 1,200 minutes in the regular season and contributed to all seven of Elon's clean sheets, including in conference matches against Campbell, William & Mary and College of Charleston.
 
Murdock earned a spot on the All-CAA Second Team for a second straight year after pacing the Phoenix with 19 points in the regular season. The forward scored a team-best seven goals, which included her first career hat trick in a 5-0 win at VMI. She also finished tied for second on the team with five assists and had three-plus point games against VMI (6), Davidson (3) and Charleston Southern (3). Murdock surpassed 50 career points earlier this season to become Elon's all-time leading scorer among players to play their entire careers at the Division I level.
 
Tirado joined Murdock as a Second Team selection with 15 points, the second most among Elon scorers. The midfielder's eight points in conference play led the team and her three goals in CAA matches were tied for the most on the Phoenix. Tirado scored a goal in consecutive conference games against Hofstra and UNCW and had a four-point outing in a victory over Hampton. The junior notched at least one point in five of Elon's first six games with nonconference goals against Davidson and High Point.
 
Elon begins the CAA Tournament on Thursday. The Phoenix is the No. 2 seed from the South Division and will host No. 3 seed William & Mary at Rudd Field in a quarterfinal match. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
 
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2026 CAA Women's Soccer Postseason Awards
CAA Co-Attacking Player of the Year: Hailey Longwell, UNCW; Sophie Thibeault, Towson
CAA Midfielder of the Year: Allie Planeaux, UNCW
CAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year: Grace Gelhaus, Elon; Alyssa Chuderewicz, UNCW
CAA Goalkeeper of the Year: Eliza Teplow, Northeastern
CAA Rookie of the Year: Meron Koro, Towson
CAA Coach of the Year: Chris Neal, UNCW
 
2026 All-CAA First Team

Player	Team	Pos.	Class	Hometown
Bella Antonio	Charleston	F	Sr.	North Ridgeville, Ohio
Hailey Longwell	UNCW	F	R-Jr.	Moon Township, Pa.
Sophie Thibeault	Towson	F	Sr.	Severn, Md.
Kale'a Perry	Towson	F	Grad.	Waldorf, Md.
Meron Koro	Towson	M	Fr.	Takoma Park, Md.
Allie Planeaux	UNCW	M	Jr.	Atlanta, Ga.
Chloe Messer	Monmouth	M	Sr.	Jackson, N.J.
Alyssa Chuderewicz	UNCW	D	Jr.	Virginia Beach, Va.
Grace Gelhaus	Elon	D	Jr.	Woodstock, Conn.
Lisa Muller	Stony Brook	D	Fr.	Zihlschlacht, Switzerland
Eliza Teplow	Northeastern	GK	Sr.	Wellesley, Mass.

 
2026 All-CAA Second Team

Player	Team	Pos.	Class	Hometown
Amy Meadows	Hofstra	F	5th	Cheshire, England
Isa Murdock	Elon	F	5th	Colorado Springs, Colo.
Ashley Lavrich	Monmouth	F	Jr.	Birdsboro, Pa.
Mia Abbey	William & Mary	M	So.	Elmer, N.J.
Abby Connolly	Campbell	M	Jr.	Thomasville, N.C.
Emely Rubio	Towson	M	Sr.	Bowie, Md.
Gabby Tirado	Elon	M	Jr.	Cheshire, Conn.
Sydney Lindeman	Towson	D	Grad.	Pittsburgh, Pa.
Grace Notarfrancesco	Monmouth	D	Jr.	Mechanicsburg, Pa.
Sasha McTiffin	Hofstra	D	Sr.	Manchester, England
Teagan Gardner	Towson	GK	R-Jr.	Leesburg, Va.

 
2026 All-CAA Third Team

Player	Team	Pos.	Class	Hometown
Caigan Leonard	UNCW	F	Jr.	New Windsor, N.Y.
Emily Lemke	Stony Brook	F	So.	Nordenham, Germany
Ava Magnuson	William & Mary	F	Fr.	Sutton, Mass.
Lula Arcila	Northeastern	M	Fr.	Miami, Fla.
Nylah Jennings	Hampton	M	Jr.	Bowie, Md.
Lindsay Wilson	William & Mary	M	Sr.	Scituate, Mass.
Brooke Birrell	Towson	D	R-Sr.	Lorton, Va.
Zahra Fepessi	Campbell	D	Sr.	Sanford, N.C.
Molly Widderich	William & Mary	D	Sr.	Mebane, N.C.
Ava Vaughan	UNCW	D	Jr.	High Point, N.C.
Lilli White	UNCW	GK	Jr.	Norfolk, Va.

 
2026 CAA All-Rookie Team

Player	Team	Pos.	Class	Hometown
Lula Arcila	Northeastern	M	Fr.	Miami, Fla.
Jayla Caldwell	Towson	D	Fr.	Ashburn, Va.
Mia Claro	Hofstra	M/F	Fr.	Bayside, N.Y.
Laney Heafner	Campbell	F	Fr.	Kernersville, N.C.
Meron Koro	Towson	M	Fr.	Takoma Park, Md.
Ava Magnuson	William & Mary	F	Fr.	Sutton, Mass.
Lisa Muller	Stony Brook	D	Fr.	Zihlschlacht, Switzerland
Daniek Tiemersma	Hofstra	M	Fr.	Oegstgeest, Netherlands
Saar van der Boom	Monmouth	D	Fr.	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Kamrey Watkins	UNCW	F	Fr.	Richlands, N.C.