GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – After a record-breaking season, Lila Dere has cemented her place as one of the best offensive players in Division II with a historic All-American selection.
Dere was one of four forwards and 13 players named to the D2CCA All-American first team, becoming the first-ever CMU player to receive the honor.

The D2CCA All-American teams are picked by a vote of the nation's sports information directors.

The redshirt sophomore forward had a season to remember in 2022. Dere swept every regional award there was to win, taking home her second consecutive RMAC Player of the Year award while also being named the RMAC Academic Player of the Year and the D2CCA South Central Region Player of the Year.

Dere scored 23 goals in just 19 games, including a four-goal game against Nebraska-Kearney on September 2 and a hat trick against New Mexico Highlands on October 23. She was the regular-season national leader in nearly every offensive category: goals (23), points (48), shots per game (6.16) and shots on goal per game (3.21, 0.48 more than anyone else in Division II).

Dere also rewrote the school's record books. Her 23 goals and 48 points topped Tiffany Thompson's previous single-season records of 21 goals and 47 points from 1998. Dere also broke her own single-season program record for shots that she set last season.

The monster season also put Dere on top of CMU's all-time lists as well. On October 2 against Regis, Dere became CMU's all-time goalscoring leader with her 36^th and 37^th career goals (her career total currently sits at 45). Then on October 21, she scored her 86^th career point to become the school's all-time points leader (she now has 96).

West Florida's Blair Cowan, the only player in Division II with more points than Dere (54), was named the National Player of the Year. Colorado School of Mines defender Jordan Barnhardt also made the first team. Barnhardt and Dere were the only two RMAC selections among the three 13-player All-American teams.

While Dere is the first-ever CMU D2CCA All-American, the Mavericks had five United Soccer Coaches All-American selections from 1997-2002, including first-team picks for forward Tiffany Thompson in 1997, defender Cheryl Bates in 2000 and goalkeeper Lindsay Blose in 2002. Dere will have a chance to join them when this year's United Soccer Coaches All-American teams are announced soon.