Limongi, Ruliffson and Smith Receive All-League Postseason Honors
10/31/2024 11:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
The three players earned spots on the All-League Second Team and All-Newcomer Squads
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Kansas City Women's Soccer was honored with three All-League awards, the Summit League announced today. Graduate student Sophia Limongi earned a spot on the All-League Second Team and was joined by Emery Ruliffson and Kinsley Smith who notched themselves spots on the All-Newcomer squad. The Kansas City squad, under the direction of Head Coach Jess Smith, earned a conference win over North Dakota and scored seven goals during conference play. Kansas City's conference win came in comeback fashion as the Roos erased a two-goal deficit to defeat the Fighting Hawks.
Each of the three honorees appeared in all eight conference matchups with Limongi starting in all eight games. The trio combined for over 2,000 minutes in conference play. Limongi and Smith played critical roles on the backline while Ruliffson dominated the midfield for the Roos. This season marks the third consecutive year that three or more Roos have been recognized with All-League Honors.
SOPHIA LIMONGI | ALL-LEAGUE SECOND TEAM
Limongi was a critical defensive player for Kansas City this season, holding down the center back position in all eight conference matches. She was the only Roo to play a full 90 minutes in all eight conference games and one of just seven players in the Summit League to do so. This marks Limongi's third career postseason honor; she earned Honorable Mention in 2022 and again in 2023.
As a Roo, Limongi made 88 starts in 89 appearances for 7,940 career minutes. She holds the all-time program record for starts and appearances as a Roo.
"Soph has been an absolute competitor for us during her career, so I'm really happy for her to be recognized," Head Coach Jess Smith said. "She's held herself and her teammates to a very high standard, which has made her into a transformational leader in our program, both on the field and off. Defensively, Soph reads the game well and is a great one-vs-one defender. She's hard to get behind because of her patience, physicality and mindset to win. On the ball, she's proven to be a great pivot in our attack, switching the play for us and starting many counters. I can't say enough about the person and player that Soph has become and how much we will miss her on the field next year."
EMERY RULIFFSON | ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Ruliffson made her mark in the midfield during her freshman season, starting in seven of eight conference games. She documented 15 shots, six of which were on goal and ranked second on the team in minutes with 695. Ruliffson helped secure the three-goal comeback win against North Dakota with an assist on the game-winning goal. She ranked second on the team in shots on goal during conference play.
"Emery played a critical role in our success this year and is very deserving of conference recognition," Head Coach Smith said. "She played the second most minutes on our team this season and was tremendous on both sides of the ball. Emery is an extremely physical player who knows how to use her body to win position, defend and keep the ball. She has proven herself to be a great connector and playmaker, which helped us be dangerous in a variety of ways in possession. Emery is our best aerial ball winner and just really difficult to get behind. She's a player always looking to grow and do what the team needs, so I really believe we've only seen the start of what Emery can do for our team."
KINSLEY SMITH | ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Smith was another critical member of Kansas City's back line, making starts in seven of the eight conference matches. She ranked third on the team in minutes with 629 across the eight games. Along with Smith and Ruliffson, three other freshmen made appearances in all eight conference games. Those three first-years combined for 737 minutes while Smith and Ruliffson combined for 1,324 minutes.
"For a freshman to come into a three back and play as much and as well as Kins did for us, is really impressive," Head Coach Smith said. "She has a gritty mindset and very high expectations of herself, which is the foundation of her success. I'm so happy for her to be recognized because she went head-to-head with some really dangerous attackers this year and proved to be a very difficult defender to get in behind. Kinsley has great patience and timing of tackles, and tremendous close down speed. She's the type of player who can play in multiple positions and be equally dangerous because of her willingness to be an impact player and do what the team needs. I'm really excited for the offseason because Kins is only going to keep getting better. Her future is very bright."
Each of the three honorees appeared in all eight conference matchups with Limongi starting in all eight games. The trio combined for over 2,000 minutes in conference play. Limongi and Smith played critical roles on the backline while Ruliffson dominated the midfield for the Roos. This season marks the third consecutive year that three or more Roos have been recognized with All-League Honors.
SOPHIA LIMONGI | ALL-LEAGUE SECOND TEAM
Limongi was a critical defensive player for Kansas City this season, holding down the center back position in all eight conference matches. She was the only Roo to play a full 90 minutes in all eight conference games and one of just seven players in the Summit League to do so. This marks Limongi's third career postseason honor; she earned Honorable Mention in 2022 and again in 2023.
As a Roo, Limongi made 88 starts in 89 appearances for 7,940 career minutes. She holds the all-time program record for starts and appearances as a Roo.
"Soph has been an absolute competitor for us during her career, so I'm really happy for her to be recognized," Head Coach Jess Smith said. "She's held herself and her teammates to a very high standard, which has made her into a transformational leader in our program, both on the field and off. Defensively, Soph reads the game well and is a great one-vs-one defender. She's hard to get behind because of her patience, physicality and mindset to win. On the ball, she's proven to be a great pivot in our attack, switching the play for us and starting many counters. I can't say enough about the person and player that Soph has become and how much we will miss her on the field next year."
EMERY RULIFFSON | ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Ruliffson made her mark in the midfield during her freshman season, starting in seven of eight conference games. She documented 15 shots, six of which were on goal and ranked second on the team in minutes with 695. Ruliffson helped secure the three-goal comeback win against North Dakota with an assist on the game-winning goal. She ranked second on the team in shots on goal during conference play.
"Emery played a critical role in our success this year and is very deserving of conference recognition," Head Coach Smith said. "She played the second most minutes on our team this season and was tremendous on both sides of the ball. Emery is an extremely physical player who knows how to use her body to win position, defend and keep the ball. She has proven herself to be a great connector and playmaker, which helped us be dangerous in a variety of ways in possession. Emery is our best aerial ball winner and just really difficult to get behind. She's a player always looking to grow and do what the team needs, so I really believe we've only seen the start of what Emery can do for our team."
KINSLEY SMITH | ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM
Smith was another critical member of Kansas City's back line, making starts in seven of the eight conference matches. She ranked third on the team in minutes with 629 across the eight games. Along with Smith and Ruliffson, three other freshmen made appearances in all eight conference games. Those three first-years combined for 737 minutes while Smith and Ruliffson combined for 1,324 minutes.
"For a freshman to come into a three back and play as much and as well as Kins did for us, is really impressive," Head Coach Smith said. "She has a gritty mindset and very high expectations of herself, which is the foundation of her success. I'm so happy for her to be recognized because she went head-to-head with some really dangerous attackers this year and proved to be a very difficult defender to get in behind. Kinsley has great patience and timing of tackles, and tremendous close down speed. She's the type of player who can play in multiple positions and be equally dangerous because of her willingness to be an impact player and do what the team needs. I'm really excited for the offseason because Kins is only going to keep getting better. Her future is very bright."
Players Mentioned
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