Liberty Picked as CUSA Favorite; Garner, Littleton Sweep Preseason Player Honors

Jonathan Turner
Aug 17
2 min read

NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com

DALLAS — Liberty has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2025 Conference USA women’s soccer championship, earning nine of 12 first-place votes from the league’s head coaches.

Junior forward Ivy Garner was named the CUSA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while teammate Lauren Littleton earned Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, giving the Lady Flames a sweep of the league’s top individual honors.

Liberty enters its third season in CUSA after winning the conference title in 2023 and finishing runner-up in 2024. The Lady Flames posted a 15-2-4 record last fall, including a 6-1-2 mark in league play to share the regular-season championship. Liberty also led the conference with seven players named to the preseason all-conference team.

Garner started all 21 matches last season, finishing with nine goals (fifth in the league), a conference-best eight assists, and five game-winning goals. She was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-South Region first team and the CUSA All-Tournament Team.

Littleton anchored a defense that led the league and ranked 12th nationally in goals-against average (.619). She logged over 1,650 minutes, with 13 full-match performances, and earned two CUSA Defensive Player of the Week honors in 2024.

FIU, the defending CUSA tournament champion, was picked second in the preseason poll after earning two first-place votes. Goalkeeper Valery Restrepo, who helped the Panthers return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011, headlines FIU’s preseason selections.

Missouri State, a newcomer to the league, collected one first-place vote and was picked third. Delaware also joins CUSA in 2025, expanding the conference to 12 members.

The top eight teams will qualify for the CUSA Championship, which Liberty will host Nov. 2–7 in Lynchburg, Va. The 2025 regular season begins Thursday, Aug. 14.