MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University women’s soccer junior Kadeisha Buchanan is one of four nominees for the 2015-16 Honda Sport Award for women’s soccer, as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) today.

 

Buchanan also was named the 2015 BMO Canadian Female Player of the Year this afternoon.

 

A native of Brampton, Ontario, Buchanan is the first WVU women’s soccer player to be nominated for the Honda Sport Award. Additionally, she is just the seventh player to win the Canadian Female Player of the Year honor since 1994. Christine Sinclair has earned the award each year since 2003.

 

“What phenomenal honors for Kadeisha,” Mountaineer coach Nikki Izzo-Brown said. “The Honda Sport Award is one of the most prestigious honors for a female student-athlete, and it is only fitting that Kadeisha is our program’s first nominee. She epitomizes the hard work and dedication it takes to excel in athletics at the collegiate level. The Canadian honor is just as big and speaks to Kadeisha’s value to Canada soccer. I’m truly happy for her to receive both recognitions.”

 

Buchanan is nominated for the Honda Sport Award alongside Rachel Daly (St. John’s), Raquel Rodriguez (Penn State) and Emily Sonnett (Virginia).

 

The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 40 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics.” The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2016 Honda Cup which will be presented on a live telecast on June 27, 2016, in the Founders’ Room at the Galen Center on the campus of the University of Southern California in downtown Los, Angeles.

 

The nominees were chosen by a panel of coaches representing the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). The Honda Sport award winner for soccer will be announced next week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.

 

The BMO Canadian Player of the Year honor is awarded based on a vote shared by Canadian media (50 percent) and Canadian coaches (50 percent).

 

A 2015 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Finalist, Buchanan is a three-time NSCAA All-America and two-time first team honoree. She anchored a Mountaineer back line that recorded 15 shutouts this season, a program record, and allowed a program-low 11 opponent goals. The three-time reigning Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, Buchanan and the WVU defense also put together a program-record nine-match shutout streak this season (Aug. 28 – Sept. 25).

 

One of three team captains, she also tallied five points (1 G, 3 A) and scored the game-winning goal at No. 15 Ohio State on Sept. 11. Buchanan, a three-time All-Big 12 First Team honoree, also was named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team and the Big 12 All-Academic Second Team.

 

Buchanan helped the Mountaineers claim their fourth straight Big 12 Conference regular-season title this year. WVU advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight, the second appearance in program history, and accumulated 19 victories, a program record. WVU was ranked in the top 10 nationally each week but two this year and hit a program-high No. 2 ranking twice.

 

Also a member of the Full Canadian Women’s National Team, Buchanan started all five of Canada’s matches at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. She was named the tournament’s Best Young Player and earned a spot on the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 All-Star Team. She also was one of 10 players shortlisted for the 2015 Ballon d’Or Award as the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year.