Women’s Soccer Holds First Awards Banquet

The Fordham women's soccer team had its first awards banquet to celebrate a successful 2014 season. 
 
Head coach Jessica Clinton and the rest of the coaching staff handed out five awards for student-athlete performance for both on and off of the pitch, as well as to the team, which boasted 23 student-athletes above a 3.0 GPA.

 
 
The first award was the Most Improved Player Award, which was given to sophomore Sydney White.  After appearing in only three games as a freshman, White played in 15 games in her second season, starting three.  Her play against Iona led to the game-winning goal against the Gaels, which extended team's win streak to five games at the time, a streak that eventually tied the team record at six.

 
Freshman Natalie Sims, who played in all 18 contests in her first season, received the Rookie of the Year Award.  In addition to making nine starts, Sims scored two goals and one assist from the center midfield position, which included netting the game-tying goal against George Washington.  
 
The Ram Pride Award, which is given to the most valuable team member, was presented to graduating senior, Maria Swift.  During her time at Fordham, Swift played an integral role for the Rams in 47 games.  During the 2014 spring season, her career was cut short due to injury.  Since then, she was a positive role model and integral team member with team spirit and a "can do" attitude.

 
 
Two MVP awards were also handed out for this past season's on-field performance.  Senior midfielder Jessica Widmann earned the Most Valuable Offensive Player Award and senior goalkeeper Ally White was named the Most Valuable Defensive Player.  
 
Widmann led the team in scoring with 12 points on four goals and four assists.  She served as a starting midfielder in every game and notched a pair of game-winning goals.  White broke into the Fordham goalkeeping record books, posting the fifth-best single season goals against average mark at 1.09.  She also cracked the top five at Fordham in career goals against average (1.53), minutes played (3286), and starts in goal (40).