Dec. 23, 2015
CWSA Release
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" Senior Raquel Rodriguez (San Jose, Costa Rica) has received the Honda Sport Award for women's soccer, as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) today.
"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," head 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."
During her senior year, Rodriguez started all 27 matches, recorded six goals and six assists. In the national championship match against No. 20 Duke, she scored the game-winning goal in the 72nd minute of play.
Rodriguez' honors this season include: Honda Sport Award winner, 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, MAC Hermann Trophy Finalist, All-Big Ten First Team, Academic All-Big Ten, TopDrawerSoccer Best XI First Team and TopDrawerSoccer's Player of the Year.
"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."
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 40 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies "the best of the best in collegiate athletics". With this honor, Rodriguez becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2016 Honda Cup which will be presented on a live telecast on June 27, 2016, in the Founders' Room at the Galen Center on the campus of the University of Southern California in downtown Los, Angeles.
Honda Sport Award winners will be presented with the honor during on-campus presentations throughout the year. Three Honda Sports Awards winners for soccer have gone on to win the prestigious Honda Cup, Christine Sinclair (2006), Cindy Daws (1997) and Mia Hamm (1994).
The CWSA, celebrating its 40th year, has honored the nation's top NCAA women athletes recognizing superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its sponsorship thirty years ago in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.0 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women's athletics programs at the institutions.