Penn State’s Raquel Rodriguez wins Honda Sport Award for soccer – Centre Daily Times

The honors for the Penn State women’s soccer team and Raquel Rodriguez keep rolling in.

The Nittany Lion senior was named winner of the Honda Sport Award, given the nation’s top player for women’s soccer, on Wednesday by the Collegiate Women Sports Awards.

The midfielder started each of the team’s 27 matches, posting six goals and six assists, and scored the game-winning goal to beat Duke 1-0 for the program’s first national championship.

“Raquel Rodriguez is one of the finest student-athletes to ever be a part of our program and therefore it is fitting that she would be recognized with the highest honor a female student-athlete can receive,” coach Erica Walsh said. “She epitomizes all that is right with college sports and is a wonderful representative of her family, country and Penn State University.”

It is the latest in a long string on honors for Rodriguez, who also started for her native Costa Rica during the summer in the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Among her other honors this year are Most Outstanding Player on Offense of the Women’s College Cup, Women’s College Cup All-Tournament Team, NSCAA Scholar Player of the Year, NSCAA Scholar First Team All-American, NSCAA All-Great Lakes First Team, NSCAA First Team All-American, All-Big Ten First Team, Academic All-Big Ten, TopDrawerSoccer Best XI First Team and TopDrawerSoccer’s Player of the Year. She also is one of three finalists for the MAC Hermann Trophy, given to the nation’s top player, which will be announced in early January.

“I am very honored to represent Penn State and I also understand this wouldn’t happen without the help of so many people and among those people it is my teammates, my coaching staff, my friends and my family that have been with me from the start,” Rodriguez said. “I know it wouldn’t be possible without them and their help, so I know this award represents so much more than just myself.”

Rodriguez will join Honda Sport Award winners in 11 other NCAA sports as finalists for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the Honda Cup, given to the top student-athlete over all sports.