May 29, 2008
Stanford, Calif. - Stanford incoming freshman Teresa Noyola was named the 2007-08 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year on Thursday, a day after picking up the same honor from Parade Magazine.
Stanford Head Coach Paul Ratcliffe was very pleased with yet another accolade for Noyola. "Teresa is very deserving of being named the Gatorade Player of the Year," said Ratcliffe. "She is one of the most skillful and creative players in the country."
Noyola becomes the fourth girl's soccer player from California to win the honor, joining Amy Rodriguez (2004-05, Santa Margarita/Lake Forest, CA), Jill Oakes (2001-02, Harvard Westlake/North Hollywood, CA) and Aly Wagner (1997-98, Presentation/San Jose, CA).
"She's a world-class talent," said Erica Walsh, head coach of the USSF Under-17 National Team. "I'm a big fan. She's the complete player. She's going to make a special impact throughout the entire 90 minutes."
The award, which recognizes not only athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Noyola as the nation's best high school girls soccer player. A national advisory board comprised of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the country helped select Noyola from the more than 337,000 high school girls soccer players nationwide. Noyola is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special afternoon ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.
The 5-foot-2 senior midfielder scored 18 goals and passed for seven assists in just 16 games this spring, leading the Vikings (14-6-2) to the second round of the CIF Division II Central Coast Section postseason. The first-ever player to be named Youth, Scholar-Athlete and High School Player of the Year in the same year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, Noyola is also the first-ever two-time PARADE Magazine Player of the Year. Noyola, who concluded her high school career with 40 goals and 27 assists, also competes for the prestigious Mountain View/Los Altos Mercury Soccer Club program, having led her squad to three United States Youth Soccer State Cup titles.
An experienced international player, Noyola became the youngest member of the United States Soccer Federation Under-20 Women's National Team less than one month after her 17th birthday in 2007, finishing as the team's second-leading scorer during last summer's Pan American Games in Brazil. Having recently returned from a two-week training camp with the Under-20 team, Noyola is poised to earn a spot on the United States roster for the upcoming 2008 FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup, to be held in Chile this November.
Noyola, who was born in Mexico and moved to Palo Alto at age three, has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom and is a National Merit Scholarship Finalist, as well as a National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar Finalist. She volunteers on behalf of El Molino--a youth camp in Mexico--helping to restore the endangered Lake Patzcuaro habitat, volunteering at an educational services and activities center, and leading the formation of the area's first girls' soccer team for ages 6 through 12.
Noyola joins boys cross country standout Chris Derrick (Neuqua Valley High School/Naperville, IL) and girls basketball star Nneka Ogwumike (Cy-Fair High School/Cypress, TX) as Stanford recruits to be named 2007-08 Gatorade National Players of the Year. Noyola becomes the 19th Gatorade National Player of the Year across all sports to attend Stanford University.
"Without question, Teresa is deserving of recognition as the nation's best high school girls soccer player based on her statistics on the field and the tremendous ability she's demonstrated," said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jeff Urban. "But she is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young players of what a leader and a student-athlete should be. She represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient."
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by RISE Magazine, which works with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.