Jan. 12, 2016
MIAMI - A pair of Nittany Lions have been nominated for 2015 Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) awards, as announced Tuesday. Redshirt freshman Rose Chandler (Atlanta, Ga.) has been nominated for Female Goalkeeper of the Year and senior Raquel Rodriguez (San Jose, Costa Rica) has been nominated for Female Player of the Year.
Chandler was a member of the U.S. U-20 Women's National Team that captured its fourth-straight CONCACAF Under-20 Women's Championship title in early December 2015.
In the championship match, against Canada, Chandler tallied a pair of saves to preserve a 1-0 victory for the Red, White and Blue.
After allowing a pair of goals in a 2-2 tie against Mexico in the tournament opener on Dec. 4, Chandler found her stride in net as she only conceded one goal over the final four matches of the tournament.
For her performance in net, Chandler was awarded the Golden Glove award, which is awarded to the best goalkeeper of the tournament.
Nominees for the 2015 CONCACAF Female Goalkeeper of the Year include: Michelle Betos, Rose Chandler, Michele Dalton, Dinnia Diaz, Kimika Forbes, Ashlyn Harris, Erin McLeod, Nittany Lion alum - Alyssa Naeher, Cecilia Santiago and Hope Solo.
Last June, Rodriguez made Penn State history by becoming the first Nittany Lion to score in a World Cup, and earned LYG Player of the Match honors in a 1-1 tie against Spain.
On June, 9, 2015, Costa Rican and Penn State women's soccer history was made just 74 seconds after Spain scored its first World Cup goal. In the 14th minute, Rodriguez received a cross in the box from Lixy Rodriguez, and she lobbed in a left footed shot at the right post for the 1-1 equalizer. Rodriguez's goal was her 24th as a member of Costa Rican's Women's National Team, a team-best.
Just last week Rodriguez made Nittany Lion history again as she received the 2015 MAC Hermann Trophy. Rodriguez joins Christie Welsh (2001) as the only two members of the Penn State women's soccer program to win the MAC Hermann Trophy.
During her senior year at Penn State, 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.
The MAC Hermann Trophy tops an outstanding Nittany Lion career for Rodriguez. During her time at Penn State, Rodriguez played in 93 career games, which included 90 starts. Rodriguez finished her career with 23 goals, 28 assists and 74 points. Nine of her 23 career goals tallied a victory for the Blue and White.
Rodriguez' honors this season include: MAC Hermann Trophy winner, Honda Sport Award winner, CONCACAF Female Player of the Year nominee, 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.
In the Penn State record books, Rodriguez ranks 16th in points (74), 18th in goals (23), T-15th in game-winning goals (nine), T-8th in assists (28), 12th in shots attempted (187), 10th in shots on goal (77) and T-17th in games started (90).
Not only did Rodriguez excel on the pitch, she also succeeded in the classroom. For her hard work in the classroom, Rodriguez was named to the 2015 College Sports Information of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Two first team.
Rodriguez was also a CONCACAF Female Player of the Year nominee in 2014.
Nominees for the 2015 CONCACAF Female Player of the Year include: Kadeisha Buchanan, Shirley Cruz, Julie Johnston, Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Raquel Rodriguez, Becky Sauerbrunn, Christine Sinclair and Hope Solo.
The lists have now been submitted for final voting among three important stake-holding segments of the Confederation: Member Associations' men's and women's national team coaches and captains, media and fans. The national team coaches and captains from across the Confederation will account for one third of the final vote, and accredited members of CONCACAF's media circle will contribute another third of the tally. Fans from around the region and the world are invited to vote online for the final one-third segment of the vote.
Fans can have their say by visiting the fan voting page on CONCACAF.com.
Voting is open through 5 p.m. EST, Monday, January 18, 2016. The winners announced via CONCACAF.com.