AUSTIN, Texas — UTSA soccer has placed three student-athletes on the 2023 Academic All-District Women’s Soccer Teams, as selected by College Sports Communicators (CSC, formerly known as CoSIDA). Alissa Stewart is a repeat honoree, while Sarina Russ and Sabrina Hillyer were recognized for the first time for this prestigious academic award.
Returning to the CSC All-District Team in back-to-back years, Stewart (Burlington, Ontario) started all 18 games at forward in 2023, scoring one goal with three assists. She took 15 shots, with eight on target for a .533 shot on goal percentage. In her career at UTSA, Stewart played 59 games with 56 starts after transferring to UTSA from Mississippi State, scoring eight total goals with a pair of game-winning-goals and eight assists. She registered 52 career shots with 29 on target for a .547 career SOG percentage. Stewart played a notable role in the 2022 Conference USA Championship team’s offense, collecting five goals last season and helping UTSA to its first conference title and NCAA appearance since 2010. In addition to her prior CSC laurels, Stewart was named to 2021 and 2022 C-USA All-Academic Team and is a two-time C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal honoree, earning her spot on the UTSA President’s List three times, with one appearance on the UTSA Dean’s List. Stewart finished her undergraduate degree in Fall 2022 with a 3.98 GPA on her Bachelor of Business Administration as a Finance and Economics double major in the Business Honors program. She is currently working on her Master of Business Administration with a Project Management graduate certificate and has a 4.00.
Russ (Lafayette, Colo.) started 15-of-18 games at midfielder for the Roadrunners. She took six shots and was a facilitator on both ends of the field, also doling out one assist. She was also a big component for the 2022 Conference USA Championship squad, starting all 22 games with 12 shots. In the classroom, Russ is a four-time C-USA Academic Medal winner, five-time UTSA Dean's List honoree and has one appearance on the UTSA President's List. She has also served five years as a member of the UTSA SAAC and has been the secretary for the past two years. In five seasons at UTSA, Russ has played 81 games with 73 starts, has one goal and five assists, taking 39 shots in 6,396 minutes of action. A fifth-year senior, Russ boasts a 3.82 GPA and is scheduled to graduate in December with her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, concentrated in Kinesiology and Health and a Business Administration minor.
Rounding out the trio, Hillyer (Katy, Texas) started 17 games this season as a defender, serving as a core member of the UTSA defense that set the program’s single-season goals-average-against record at 0.72 – the defensive unit collecting seven shutouts and allowing just a single goal in five other matches. Hillyer ranked third for the 2023 Roadrunners with 20 shots and eight on goal for a .400 SOG. She started all 58 games she played in during the three seasons since transferring from Arizona, logging 4,373 minutes with two goals, six assists and a .423 SOG percentage. This season, Hillyer earned a spot on the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll. She is a two-time Conference USA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll (2021-22/2022-23) awardee, appearing twice on the UTSA President’s List and four times on the UTSA Dean’s List. Hillyer graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Health from the UTSA Honors College in Spring 2023 with a 3.79 GPA. Holding a 3.57 graduate GPA, she’s currently pursuing her Master of Science in Business.
- UTSA -