The UT Martin Skyhawks women’s soccer team has been crowned the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) regular season champions, and with that has come an almost clean sweep of the OVC postseason awards.
Leading the team for his fourth year, Skyhawks Head Coach Mike Varga has helped the team excel and become the squad that they are. Varga has won his first regular season OVC championship this year, along with gathering his first over .500 win team with the Skyhawks. With that, Varga has been named the OVC coach of the year.
“It’s a tribute to the players,” said Varga. “This is a lot of hard work that is done by the players. I give them all the credit.”
Varga’s recognition as coach of the year reflects on not only his impact of the team but his dedication to the program.
“[Varga’s] given me a lot of confidence; when I came in and was new, he showed a lot of confidence in me and made me feel welcome,” said junior defender Allie Carroll.
“Coach Mike is great; he cares about us so much,” said senior forward Peyton Cook. “He genuinely cares about not just as players but as people, and he’s always shown that.”
“His impact on all of us as players is greater than I can really put into words,” said graduate goalkeeper Mac Titus. “He’s just a great guy and is so dedicated to all of us.”
Titus also grabbed her own title as OVC goalkeeper of the year. Titus has made her mark on Skyhawk soccer, ranking top 10 in minutes played, saves, goals against average, wins and shutouts in UT Martin history. She also has eight total OVC goalkeeper of the week honors, with four of them coming from this season, the most in a season by a Skyhawk.
“I think with Mac, her character as a leader and a captain has come out more than it has before of our time here,” said junior midfielder Unni Wolf.
If anyone deserves this award, it’s Titus.
“I’m glad I proved this year that I deserved that,” said Titus. “I’m so grateful that they recognized that and picked me.”
The other award winners were Allie Carroll, OVC defender of the year, and Unni Wolf, OVC Midfielder of the year.
Carroll stood out on the backline for the Skyhawks this season. She has totaled three OVC defender of the week awards since arriving at UT Martin.
“I’m really grateful to receive the award, but I owe everything to my teammates beside me,” said Carroll. “Throughout the whole year, our defense has been really strong, and we work so hard. I couldn’t have won the award without them.”
Winning OVC defender of the year is an immense honor for Carroll. Titus mentioned how important Carroll’s first season’s impact has been on the Skyhawks.
“Allie is such a rock in our defensive unit,” said Titus. “I am so grateful she decided to come to Martin this year.”
Carroll is tied as the season’s second-leading scorer for the Skyhawks, alongside sophomore forward/midfielder Addy McCleary, at three goals. Carroll is also the only Skyhawk to take, and make, a penalty kick this season.
While Carroll was anchoring the Skyhawk’s defense, Wolf was patrolling the midfield. A workhorse for the Skyhawks, Wolf led the team in goals with four, including one game-winning goal in an away game against the Western Illinois Leathernecks.
“I was surprised; I am really thankful that the team made it possible for me to get recognized like this, and I’m really grateful for that,” said Wolf.
Wolf’s career at UT Martin has not gone unnoticed. In her freshman season, she played and started in 14 matches with two goals and one assist. In her sophomore season, she played and started in 18 matches, having one goal and two assists. Wolf just completed her junior season, playing and starting in 18 matches and having four goals.
“Unni, she runs, and like no other,” said Carroll. “Her work ethic is really inspiring, and she is also a really good leader and always so positive.”
While Varga, Titus, Carroll and Wolf took home the conference’s top individual honors, along with All OVC First-Team honors, the Skyhawks’ success was recognized beyond those four. Three other players also earned All-OVC Second-Team honors for their contributions throughout the season: Peyton Cook, freshman defender Nasti Tanninen and senior midfielder Yaritza Trejo.
Cook has spent all four years of her collegiate career at UT Martin and has been nothing short of a stand-out. Cook has recorded 11 goals and 10 assists in her career over a span of 74 matches with 65 starts (subject to change after OVC championships).
Cook was also named to the All-OVC Second-Team in 2025 and the All-OVC Newcomer Team in 2023.
On top of All-OVC Second-Team honors, Tanninen and Yaritza were also awarded spots on the All-OVC Newcomer Team.
Tanninen was a key piece to the Skyhawks’ defense in her first collegiate season. Before UT Martin, Tanninen played on the Finland U18 national team. She started and played in all 18 regular season matches and gave the Skyhawks two assists. She also gathered an OVC co-defender of the week award after the Skyhawks beat the Lindenwood Lions 1-0 on Oct. 4, 2026.
Rounding out the All-OVC Second Team is Yaritza. Before UT Martin, Yaritza played two seasons at Northwest Mississippi Community College and one season at Ole Miss. She played in 42 matches with 33 starts at Northwest Mississippi and 14 matches with four starts at Ole Miss. She played in 15 matches for the Skyhawks this season, starting all 15 and collecting two assists.
While the Skyhawks have plenty to celebrate with both their individual and team accomplishments, their season is not over just yet. With OVC championships just ahead, UT Martin will look to continue to build onto their season’s success, competing for the postseason conference title.
The next matchup for the Skyhawks will be on Thursday, Nov. 12, when they will take on the No. 5 SIUE Cougars, the only OVC team that beat the Skyhawks in the regular season. Whoever comes out on top will take on either the No. 2 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks or the No. 6 Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles on Sunday, Nov. 15, for the OVC Championship.
