KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Continuing to make history at an unprecedented clip, Christopher Newport senior Riley Cook became the first player in CNU Women's Soccer history to earn three All-America certificates as she was named a first team selection by the United Soccer Coaches on Wednesday evening. Joining her as Christopher Newport earned multiple All-American plaques for just the second time was senior forward Sarah Smith, earning third team plaudits. 

Maintaining her assault on the CNU record book, Cook not only becomes the first three-time All-American in women's soccer history, but with her first team selection becomes the first player in Christopher Newport Athletics history in all sports, men's or women's, to earn first team All-American honors three or more times in her career.* Her selection in 2021 mirrors her selection by D3soccer.com as a first-team pick in both 2018 and 2019 while she earned first team honors from the United Soccer Coaches in 2018 and a second team nod in 2019. 

In addition to Cook's momentous selection, senior forward Sarah Smith becomes just the seventh player in the 25-year history of the program to earn All-American recognition. It is only the second time that two players have earned All-American honors in the same year as the tandem joins only Gabby Gillis and Cook's honors in 2018. 

Cook was one of only two three-time selections among the 51 total All-Americans announced by the United Soccer Coaches on Wednesday night. She and Ithaca senior Alex Epifani, a third-team selection, earned the third certificate of their careers. 

Condensing Cook's accomplishments is a monumental task as she has put together one of the finest careers in CNU Athletics history. The all-time leading scorer's career culminated in a 48-point senior season with 22 goals and four assists this year. After transitioning to the midfield after three eye-popping seasons at forward, the Captains' offensive leader in nearly every statistical measure has been as dangerous as ever with nine game-winning goals and 77 shots on-goal in her final campaign. 

She has been held without a goal in only six games this season, making an impact in every outing the Captains have played. She has scored the game-winning goal against every nationally-ranked opponent CNU has faced this year and tied the NCAA record for game-winning goals in a career with 33. 

The team captain for the fifth-ranked and undefeated CNU women's soccer team, Cook has elevated her game to an even higher level in the postseason, leading the tournament with five goals scored and 10 points. Four of her five tallies have been winners and she has played at least 84 minutes in three of the four NCAA Championship contests. 

As a junior in 2019, Cook became the program and conference's all-time leading scorer; since, she has only continued to add to her mammoth record-breaking numbers. With 88 goals and 17 assists, the Mechanicsville, Va. native has 193 career points in just 84 games. The four-time first team All-Region honoree is a two-time Conference Player of the Year and is the active leader across all three divisions of NCAA women's soccer play in career goals scored. 

Joining Cook on the 2021 All-American list is newcomer Sarah Smith, who transferred to CNU prior to the 2020 season from Virginia Tech. After waiting in the wings as a junior due to the CoVID-19 pandemic, Smith finally donned the Royal Blue and Silver in 2021 and burst onto the scene in her first official season with the Captains. 

The senior from Norfolk, Va. wasted no time making an impact on the CNU women's soccer offense as she scored the first goal of the season for Christopher Newport with the game-winning goal against Catholic. She would notch two more scores and an assist in her first four games, racing to the top of the Captains' scoring charts. As the season progressed, Smith slotted in perfectly as a dangerous weapon at the top of the deep Captains' attack, scoring eight total goals with three assists on the year for a 19-point effort. 

Smith rifled home a shot against UC Santa Cruz in the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Championship for the game-winning goal against the Banana Slugs, and then added a heater in a 2-0 win over Cabrini in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. A first-team All-Conference and first team All-Region selection in 2021, Smith has started all 21 games so far this season. 

This year's All-Americans will be recognized for their accomplishments at the United Soccer Coaches All-America Ceremony & Reception on Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, at the Kansas City Convention Center in conjunction with the united Soccer Coaches Convention.

* - excludes sports that do not name All-Americans by team (track & field, men's & women's tennis) 
 

2021 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III Women's All-America Teams
 

First Team
Pos.	Name	Class	School	Hometown
K	Mika Fisher	So.	Amherst College	Englewood, Colo.
D	Gabbie Cesarone*	Sr.	Washington University (Mo.)	St. Charles, Ill.
D	Jess Hall	Sr.	The College of New Jersey	Chester, N.J.
D	Ella Merte	So.	Pacific Lutheran University	Auburn, Wash.
D	Bonnie Shea	Sr.	Johns Hopkins University	Atlanta, Ga.
D	Cameron Zak	Sr.	Centre College	Grosse Pointe, Mich.
M	Riley Cook**	Sr.	Christopher Newport University	Mechanicsville, Va.
M	Gianna Coppola	Jr.	The College of New Jersey	Montville, N.J.
M	Kayla Herr	Jr.	Messiah University	Lititz, Pa.
M	Anika Washburn	Sr.	Case Western Reserve University	Brookfield, Wis.
F	Grace Devanny	Jr.	Wesleyan University	Concord, N.H.
F	Delaney Earl	Sr.	Otterbein University	Lewis Center, Ohio
F	Julia Keogh	Sr.	William Smith College	Toronto, Ont.
F	Hannah Schepers	Sr.	McDaniel College	Port Deposit, Md.
F	Kaylee Sturans	Sr.	Misericordia University	Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
F	Katie Sullivan	Fr.	Johns Hopkins University	Yardley, Pa.
F	Kaity Ward	Sr.	Trinity University (Texas)	Phoenix, Ariz.
Second Team
Pos.	Name	Class	School	Hometown
K	Alex Panasuk	Sr.	The College of New Jersey	Wall Township, N.J.
D	Hope Drewes	Sr.	University of Scranton	Yardley, Pa.
D	Jules Dotterweich	Sr.	McDaniel College	Timonium, Md.
D	Bailey Meyer	Jr.	Trinity University (Texas)	Southlake, Texas
D	Annie Mitchell	Jr.	University of Chicago	Davis, Calif.
D	Kim Zhou	Sr.	Amherst College	McLean, Va.
M	Madelyn Dowell	Sr.	Hardin-Simmons University	Plano, Texas
M	Michaela Fasolino	Sr.	Misericordia University	Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
M	Rylie Mutton	Jr.	Hamilton College	Tiverton R.I.
M	Payton McDonnell	Jr.	Loras College	Arlington Heights, Ill.
M	Meagan O'Callahan	Jr.	Franklin & Marshall College	Clark, N.J.
M	Emily Tomz	Jr.	Pomona-Pitzer Colleges	Palo Alto, Calif.
F	Alex Adams*	Jr.	Carnegie Mellon University	Pittsburgh, Pa.
F	Erin Flynn	Sr.	Washington University (Mo.)	Woodridge, Ill.
F	Karenna Groff	Sr.	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Weston, Mass.
F	Sheila McQuillen	Sr.	William Smith College	Natick, Mass.
F	Emma Sweitzer	Fr.	Misericordia University	Dallas, Pa.
Third Team
Pos.	Name	Class	School	Hometown
K	Lauren Ketchum	Sr.	Wheaton College (Ill.)	Tulsa, Okla.
D	Carissa Beckham	Sr.	Ohio Northern University	Mason, Ohio
D	Lily Dresner	Sr.	Emory University	Los Angeles, Calif.
D	Tookie Wilson	Sr.	Tufts University	Wenham, Mass.
M	Eva Anderson	Sr.	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Edina, Minn.
M	Sophie Amundson	Sr.	University of Wisconsin-La Crosse	Owatonna, Minn.
M	Josie Dattilo	Jr.	Hanover College	Montgomery, Ohio
M	Teresa Hegarty	Jr.	University of Scranton	Bryn Mawr, Pa.
M	Merilyn Hinrichs	Sr	William Smith College	Swampscott, Mass.
M	Kate Luers*	Sr.	Wartburg College	Middletown, Iowa
F	Juliette Carreiro	Sr.	Brandeis University	Upton, Mass.
F	Amanda Elton	Jr.	St. Catherine University	Cottage Grove, Minn.
F	Alex Epifani**	Sr.	Ithaca College	Dewitt, N.Y.
F	Nicole Kaspi	Sr.	University of Chicago	Glencoe, Ill.
F	Maria Rico	Jr.	University of Mary Hardin-Baylor	Cedar Park, Texas
F	Joy Smith	Sr.	Wartburg College	Polk City, Iowa
F	Sarah Smith	Sr.	Christopher Newport University	Norfolk, Va.

* - Denotes previous selection