Women’s Soccer: Blank Earns All-America Tag
December 09, 2009 01:55 PM | General
By Tim Goodenow for MSNsportsNET.com
December 9, 2009
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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University women’s soccer player Carolyn Blank earned All-America recognition from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) for the second-straight year. The midfielder was named a second team All-American for her play during the 2009 season.
“It’s a nice honor to be recognized for all of the hard work that I have put in,” says Blank, a senior education major. “The honor needs to be shared with my coaches and teammates, however, who have made my soccer career a memorable one.”
Blank, a defensive center midfielder, becomes the program’s fourth two-time NSCAA All-American. She led the Mountaineers to a 10th-straight NCAA tournament appearance in 2009, scoring nine points on the season and helping the team post 13 shutouts.
Blank notched the fastest goal in West Virginia’s 10-year NCAA tournament history, leading WVU past Loyola University Maryland in NCAA Championship first-round action on Nov. 13. She headed in a corner kick only 89 seconds into the match to give the Mountaineers an early 1-0 lead. The goal was the fastest of the season for WVU and the second-fastest ever in 14 seasons of Mountaineer soccer.
A Toms River, N.J., native, Blank became the school’s all-time leader in matches started and played with 92. A Hermann Trophy candidate and two-time team captain, Blank was named a 2009 all-BIG EAST first-team selection and NSCAA first team all-Northeast region selection. She was also named to TopDrawerSoccer’s Team of the Season third team – its version of national All-America recognition.
The NSCAA All-America selections will be recognized at the annual All-America Luncheon, held in Philadelphia on Jan. 16, 2010, as part of the 2010 NSCAA Convention.
Coach Nikki Izzo-Brown has produced at least one All-American in nine of the past 10 years. Blank’s 2009 honor marks WVU’s 15th All-America selection since 2000.
