Bulldog Trio Earns WPSL Best XI Honors

STARKVILLE – A trio of Mississippi State soccer players earned Conference Best XI honors while playing in the WPSL's collegiate leagues this summer.

Naila Shoefberger, Adia Symmonds and Nancy Almanza were all tabbed to the All-Sunshine Conference squad in the South Region. The WPSL's 24 all-conference teams account for 264 players, and the Bulldogs were one of just 12 NCAA Division I programs represented by at least three current student-athletes.

Schoefberger enters her senior season in 2025 as the Bulldogs' most-veteran defender. She played in 18 matches off the bench last season, totaling 431 minutes and adding a goal. The Tampa, Florida, native was born in Austria and has experience with the Austrian U19 and U17 Women's National Teams.

Symmonds, a freshman who enrolled early for the spring semester in Starkville, was teammates with Schoefberger at Florida Premier FC this summer. Their club posted a 6-3-1 record in the regular season and was No. 22 in the WPSL national rankings. Symmonds has previously trialed with Arsenal's U21 squad in England.

Almanza, a rising senior who transferred to MSU from Jacksonville State, spent her summer with Jacksonville Armada FC, which finished the regular season at No. 15 in the WPSL national rankings after posting a 6-1-1 record. The forward tallied eight goals and three assists last fall for the Gamecocks while earning Second Team All-Conference USA honors.

Mississippi State will open the 2025 season on Saturday, August 2, with a home exhibition match against Mercer. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and a free kids clinic will be held immediately following the match for children entering the sixth grade and younger.

For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSOC."

Mississippi State University Athletics

Bulldog Trio Earns WPSL Best XI Honors

Players Mentioned

Nancy Almanza

Adia Symmonds

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