Women’s Soccer Holds Annual Awards Banquet

Bronx, N.Y. - The Fordham women's soccer team had its annual awards banquet to celebrate the 2016 season this past weekend.
 
Head coach Jessica Clinton and the rest of the coaching staff handed out six awards for student-athlete performance for both on and off the pitch, as well as to the team, which boasted 24 student-athletes above a 3.0 GPA.  

The first award was the Most Improved Player Award, which was given to sophomore Keri Villano.  After not seeing action as a freshman, Villano appeared in 16 games, seeing action in the midfield and the back end.  She recorded one assist on the season, which came against Connecticut, but had plenty of impact on games she did not score in with her play and character on the field.
  Freshman Margaret Roughley, who played in all 20 contests in her first season, received the team's Rookie of the Year Award.  She was selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team after starting 16 games and notching three goals and three assists in her inaugural campaign.  She was the 11^th Ram player to be named to the All-Rookie Team, since Fordham joined the league.
 
The Ram Pride Award, given to an outstanding member or members of the Fordham Women's Soccer Community that exemplifies the core values, passion and pride of a Ram, was presented to senior Turner Block, for the second straight season, as well as to her father, Hunt.
 
Block, a 2016 tri-captain, was in charge of the team's community service committee, and is one of the women's soccer representatives on Fordham's Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC).  She constantly did the little things to make herself and her teammates better, and is always there to lend a helping hand.  One of the hardest working players on and off the field, Block is often seen running extra sprints, coming out early or staying late after sessions to do the little things.  Her positivity was infectious and one can't help but smile when she is around.  That extra work saw her record her first career goal in the Rams' win against Manhattan.  Hunt was a parent liaison for the team and earned the Ram Pride for his commitment and pride to the program.
 
The team's Strength & Conditioning Award went to senior Ally Doyle.  Doyle was a First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection at defender, starting all 19 games she appeared in and was a part of seven shutouts.  She also contributed on the offensive end, netting her first career goal on Senior Day against George Mason, while also adding an assist.

Two MVP awards were also handed out for this past season's on-field performance.  Sophomore midfielder Brooke Salmon earned the Most Valuable Offensive Player Award and senior defender Nicole Bates was named the Most Valuable Defensive Player.  
 
After earning All-Rookie Team honors as a freshman, Salmon earned Second Team All-Atlantic 10 honors as a sophomore.  She led the squad with six goals and four assists for 16 points.  Of her six goals, two were game-winning tallies against Loyola Chicago and Davidson.
 
Bates, a Second Team All-Atlantic 10 and All-Academic selection last year, saved her best performance for her final season, collecting several awards along the way.  She started all 20 games at defender, netting a career-high three goals on the year.  A 2016 tri-captain and a preseason All-Atlantic 10 selection, Bates was a First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection at year's end, while also receiving Third Team NSCAA All-Mid-Atlantic Region honors and ECAC All-Star First Team status.
 
An Applied Accounting & Finance major, Bates was also named a 2016 CoSIDA Third Team Academic All-American® in November and Academic All-District.  She was a four-year member of the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll and was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Academic Team for the second straight season. 
 
Bates played in every game over the last four seasons, starting 73 of 77 games, which is fourth all-time at Fordham.