Wake Forest Athletics
Stengel Named TopDrawerSoccer National Rookie of the Year
11/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 18, 2010
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest forward Katie Stengel has been named TopDrawerSoccer.com's National Rookie of the Year as announced by the website Thursday, becoming the first-ever Demon Deacon to receive the award. Stengel was not the only Wake player to be recognized, as fellow forward Rachel Nuzzolese earned second team All-Rookie honors.
In her first year as a Demon Deacon, Stengel has established herself as one of the best players ever to wear the old gold and black, setting new school records for goals (16) and points (37) in a season. She leads freshmen nationwide in goals and points scored, and ranks in the top 10 in both categories among all Division I players.
A native of Melbourne, Fla., Stengel also leads the Atlantic Coast Conference in goals and points, putting herself in position to become the first-ever Wake Forest player to finish as the league leader in either category. No freshman has finished the year as the ACC leader in both goals and points since North Carolina's Kim Patrick in 1999, and no rookie has led the conference in one of the scoring categories since 2002.
The TopDrawerSoccer.com National Rookie of the Year award is the latest in a series of honors that Stengel has garnered this season. She was named the ACC Freshman of the Year in addition to earning First Team All-ACC, ACC All-Freshman Team, and All-ACC Tournament Team honors. Stengel was recognized as the ACC Player of the Week for the period of 8/30-9/5 and was twice named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week.
Nuzzolese also had a spectacular start to her Wake Forest career, totaling nine goals and 23 points in 11 games before suffering a season-ending injury. She became the first player in school history to score a goal in three-straight games to start her career and was held without a point on only two occasions. At the time of her injury, she ranked fourth among all D-I players in goals and ninth in points.
The Melville, N.Y. native also received numerous honors this season, having made the ACC All-Freshman Team, once being named TopDrawerSoccer.com's National Player of the Week, and twice being named one of CollegeSoccer360.com's Primetime Performers of the Week.
Stanford's Christen Press was named TDS' National Player of the Year. The conference was well-represented on the two freshman teams, as 10 of the 22 players hailed from the ACC.
TopDrawerSoccer.com National All-Rookie Teams
Rookie of the Year: Katie Stengel, Wake Forest
1st Team
GK: Shelby Church, USC
D: Kecia Morway, Notre Dame
D: Crystal Dunn, North Carolina
D: Cloee Colohan, Portland
M: Jenna Richmond, UCLA
M: Mandy Laddish, Notre Dame
M: Taylor Travis, Florida
F: Micaela Capelle, Portland
F: Katie Stengel, Wake Forest
F: Mollie Pathman, Duke
F: Kealia Ohai, North Carolina
2nd Team
GK: Kelsey Wys, Florida State
D: Kailey Blain, Georgetown
D: Meg Morris, North Carolina
D: Kassey Kallman, Florida State
M: Nicole Locandro, Georgia
M: Haley Boysen, USC
M: Vanessa Laxgang, Clemson
F: Laura Weinberg, Duke
F: Rachel Nuzzolese, Wake Forest
F: Vanessa DiBernardo, Illinois
F: Audrey Barry, William & Mary
