STANFORD, Calif. – Junior midfielder and MAC Hermann Trophy winner Catarina Macario was named the Honda Sport Award winner for soccer, as announced Monday by the Collegiate Women's Sports Awards.
With the honor, Macario becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman of the Year and prestigious Honda Cup, which will be presented on a live telecast on CBS Sports Network in June.
"I am incredibly humbled to be recognized alongside such inspirational athletes and it is hard to put into words how appreciative I am of everyone who has supported me throughout my life to make me into the woman I am today," said Macario. "One of the things I learned from a very young age was that, alone, one cannot succeed. To my family, friends, teammates, coaches, our sports performance coach Brianna Kanz, our athletic trainer Justin Police and the entire Stanford community, thank you! Thank you for pushing me and inspiring me to be a better person and student-athlete each and every day. Lastly, I want to thank the organizers of the Honda Award for their continued and unconditional support of women's athletics. The fight for gender equality is just beginning and, together, we can ALL make a difference in the world."
Hailing from San Diego and majoring in communication, Macario led the NCAA in goals (32), assists (23) and points (87), all of which were single-season program records. Recently, the attacking midfielder became the fifth player in NCAA history to win the MAC Hermann Trophy two years in a row, joining the ranks of Morgan Brian (2013-14), Christine Sinclair (2004-05), Cindy Parlow (1997-98) and Mia Hamm (1992-93).
Macario's 87 points were the third-most in NCAA history behind Hamm (98) and Sinclair (88) and are the most in program history by 22 points, well ahead of the previous program record held by Kelley O'Hara (2009). Macario is the program's first two-time winner of the award after joining O'Hara (2009), Christen Press (2010), Teresa Noyola (2011) and Andi Sullivan (2017) in 2018.
"Catarina is not only one of the best student-athletes I have had the privilege of coaching but a top-notch human being who brings the best out of those around her," said the Knowles Family Director of Women's Soccer Paul Ratcliffe. "She has played an important role in two of our national championships and this is yet another piece of recognition that is thoroughly-deserved."
Stanford captured its third national championship on Dec. 8 in a 0-0, penalty shootout victory over North Carolina. Led by Macario, the Cardinal set a program record with 102 goals.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 42 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports and signifies "the best of the best in collegiate athletics". Macario was selected by a vote of administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools.
