ROME, Ga. – Two members of the Salem soccer team—Darilyn Nieto and Alyson Gammons—were recognized as part of the 2022 USA South All-Conference Team when the league released the awards on Thursday, November 3, 2022. 

Nieto became the first player in Salem soccer history and first Spirit in USA South Conference history to earn the league's Rookie of the Year honor, along with being named as a First Team All-Conference honoree. Nieto joins Brooke Bukas (2016, 2017), Sydney Priest (2017) and Alyssa Denkovich (2018, 2019) as the fourth different Spirit to earn USA South First Team All-Conference honors.

"Darilyn has been a great addition to our program both on-and-off the field," said head coach Robin Ramirez. "I am so proud of her being named first team all-conference and USA South Rookie of the Year. As fantastic of a skill set that Darilyn brought with her on campus, her personality has lended to garnering the trust of her teammates and being very coachable. I am looking forward to seeing her continued success here at Salem."

A three-time recipient of the USA South Rookie of the Week in 2022, Nieto became just the fourth player in conference history, dating back to the 2010 season, to receive USA South Conference Rookie of the Week accolades on three occasions in the same season and the second player to receive the honor in consecutive weeks.

On September 19th, after earning the USA South Rookie of the Week for the third straight week, Nieto joined Cassidy Reich (Piedmont), Payton Stuart (Ferrum) and Celia de Diego (Averett) as the only players to receive the honor at least three times in the same season. More specifically, Nieto and Reich are the only two players in league history to receive the distinction in consecutive weeks.

Another major accomplishment for Nieto came with her team-leading, 14-goal season, which resulted in 30 points. She finished with the third-most goals by a Spirits rookie, one off the pace established by Alexi Saganich (2010) and Tarryn Johnson (2014).

The Greensboro, N.C., native recorded her first multi-goal outing of the season in the season-opening match against Regent. In that match she scored two of Salem's nine goals, including the first goal of the season for the Spirits. Three days later, on September 6th, Nieto recorded her first collegiate hat trick in an 8-0 victory over Sweet Briar.

Nieto posted her best statistical match of the season, scoring all four goals in a 4-1 triumph at Agnes Scott. She finished her outing against the Scotties with eight points and seven shots over the course of the afternoon. Her final multi-goal outing came in the USA South Tournament clash at Methodist, where she scored a pair of goals in the final 10 minutes of the match, attempting six shots along the way.

Gammons was distinguished as a member of the USA South All-Sportsmanship Team. Previous honorees of the All-Sportsmanship Team for Salem include: Jasmine Romero (2016), Amy Bounds (2017), Aliyah Rice (2018), Kim Sephaphathi (2019) and Amanda Rojo (2021).

A business administration major who is also receiving a minor in entrepreneurship and non-profit management at Salem, completing her degree in three years, Gammons put the finishing touches on her senior season with two goals and three assists, resulting in seven points.

Gammons notched her first points of the 2022 season in the season opener against Regent, scoring one goal and adding an assist in the first of Salem's four shutouts. In the second match of the season, Gammons handed out an assist in the Spirits 8-0 triumph versus Sweet Briar.

Gammons' third assist came at Mary Baldwin, when she came delivered an assist on the game-winning goal that defeated the Fighting Squirrels 1-0. Gammons tallied her second goal of the season, and first of the match, in a 2-1 victory over Pfeiffer on October 22nd.

The 2022 USA South Women's Soccer All-Conference Team: