Six members of the Case Western Reserve University women's soccer team earned Academic All-District honors from the College Sports Communicators, the organization announced on Tuesday.
Seniors Ceci Dapino, Maggie Farra, Jamie Goldfarb, and Alexis Sassower, and sophomores Kinzly Gootman and Ellie Palaian all were recognized for their achievements in the classroom and on the field. Student-athletes must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically with a cumulative grade point average greater than 3.50 and must have competed in at least 90 percent or started in at least 66 percent of their team's games to be eligible for the award. Schools were limited to six nominations.
All six advanced to the Academic All-America ballot. The full CSC membership will vote on the candidates, with three teams of Academic All-Americans released on Wednesday, December 17.
Dapino led the squad with eight points in conference play, scoring four goals in seven contests. She scored twice in a 3-1 win over Rochester and added goals in ties with Chicago and Carnegie Mellon. Overall, Dapino scored 11 goals and added five assists for 27 points in 20 games, all starts, ranking second on the team in scoring. She was named to the All-University Athletic Association First Team for the first time in her career. Dapino finished her career with 20 goals and 14 assists in 75 games (67 starts) across four seasons. A biology and statistics double major with a 3.97 cumulative GPA, Dapino earned Academic All-District honors for the second time and is a three-time UAA All-Academic honoree.
Farra, who is receiving her first career Academic All-District honor, led the Spartans in scoring in 2025, netting 12 goals in 20 games, all starts. She added three assists to tie for the team lead with 27 points. Farra became the first player in program history to record multiple hat tricks in a single season or in a career, scoring three goals against Franciscan on August 29 and against John Carroll on September 3. She finished the season with 65 shots (28 on goal) and scored two game-winning goals. In 74 career games, Farra scored 20 times with eight assists. She is a three-time UAA All-Academic honoree and is a mechanical engineering major with a perfect 4.00 GPA.
Goldfarb received her third career All-UAA honors this season, earning First Team recognition after back-to-back Second Team honors in 2023 and 2024. She finished the campaign with eight goals and two assists in 18 games (all starts), including a hat trick against Franciscan to begin the year and two goals against Ohio Northern on September 14. In 71 career games (61 starts), Goldfarb scored 16 times with six assists. She was an Academic All-District selection in 2023 and is a three-time UAA All-Academic honoree as a business management and economics double major with a 3.97 cumulative GPA.
Sassower, who was an All-UAA Second Team selection this season and honorable mention in 2023, started every game for CWRU this season on the wing. In league play, she scored during a 2-0 win over NYU and played 484 out of a possible 630 minutes (77%). In 20 games, Sassower had six goals and eight assists, ranking second on the team in helpers, totaling 20 points. She scored in both postseason games and added an assist in the First Round victory over Rose-Hulman. In 58 career games, Sassower scored 15 goals and added 15 assists, starting 56 contests. She is a three-time Academic All-District and UAA All-Academic honoree as a neuroscience major with a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA.
Gootman started the first 17 games of the season for CWRU before her season was cut short due to injury. A fixture on the squad's backline, she played all 90 minutes in 13 contests, missing just 64 minutes of action during her 17 games. Gootman helped the squad shut out 11 opponents and limit opposing teams to 6.7 shots and 2.9 shots on goal per game. She received her first career UAA All-Academic and Academic All-District honors as a nutritional biochemistry and metabolism major with a perfect 4.0 cumulative GPA.
Palaian played every minute in front of the net for CWRU during the season, setting a program record with 12 shutouts in 20 games. During league play, she allowed seven goals (one per game), and saved 22 shots, blanking opponents in two of the seven contests. Palaian allowed just 10 goals in 2025 for a goals against average of 0.49, totaling 46 saves and a save percentage of .821. She received All-UAA Second Team honors this season and earned her first career UAA All-Academic and Academic All-District selections. Palaian, who is a business management major, has a 3.50 cumulative GPA.
The 2025 Academic All-District Women's Soccer Teams, selected by College Sports Communicators, recognize the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The CSC Academic All-America program separately recognizes soccer honorees in four divisions — NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and NAIA — for each gender.
The Division III CSC Academic All-America programs are partially financially supported by the NCAA Division III national governance structures to assist CSC with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2025-26 Divisions III Academic All-America programs.
Case Western Reserve reached the second round of NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season in 2025, finishing the year with an overall record of 14-2-4.
