CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Four America East women's soccer standout student-athletes were named to the Capital One Academic All-District teams, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced last week.
University of Hartford's Caitlin Alves was a first-team District I selection and will move on to the national ballot, while Boston University's Angelina Cords and Katherine Donnelly were second-team District I choices along with the Hawks' Christiana Lang.
Alves, one of the top midfielders in America East, earned first-team all-conference honors after scoring a league-high 10 goals. The junior, who was voted the America East Fans' Choice Player of the Year, is also tied for the conference lead with 25 points and ranks fifth with five assists. A health sciences major with a 3.61 grade-point average, Alves earned America East All-Academic honors this year and has been named to the league's Academic Honor Roll twice, including the Commissioner's Honor Roll last year.
Cords, the America East Defender of the Year and Most Outstanding Player of the conference championship, earned first-team all-conference honors for the third straight year. A senior captain, she leads a back line that has allowed just 11 goals in 21 games (0.52 gapg), including only one to conference foes, and has 13 shutouts on the year. Cords, a repeat second-team CoSIDA selection, is a double-major in biology and economics with a 3.56 GPA. She's also a two-time America East All-Academic honoree.
Donnelly, a first-team America East all-league defender, has contributed to the Terriers' stellar defense, which ranks in the national top-20 in team goals-against average. An advertising major with a 3.56 GPA, Donnelly earned America East All-Academic honors for the first time this season and was on the Commissioner's Honor Roll last year. She also earned Patriot League All-Academic honors in 2009 while at Holy Cross.
Lang, a
second-team all-conference defender, led a Hartford defense that
compiled a 0.54 team GAA and registered 12 shutouts this season. A junior with a 3.77 GPA in sociology, Lang earned America East All-Academic honors and has been named to the league's Commissioner's Honor Roll.
To be nominated for the distinction, a student athlete must excel on the field as a starter or important reserve, and in the classroom by maintaining a cumulative grade point average of 3.30.