St. John's University Athletics
Two Women's Soccer Players Named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans
11/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 19, 2009
QUEENS, N.Y. - St. John's women's soccer players Amanda Pasciolla and Kelly McConnell have been named to the 2009 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® Women's Soccer Teams, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Pasciolla, an economics major with a 4.0 grade-point-average, was selected to the second team. Starting in all 21 games, she helped lead the team to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance this season. Pasciolla controlled the midfield in nine shutout wins and fueled the team's return to the BIG EAST Semifinals for second time in history by assisting on the game winner in double-overtime against Georgetown in quarterfinal action on Nov. 1. A 2009 All-BIG EAST second team honoree, she set career highs in 2009 with four assists and six points. She scored the game-winning goal against then-No. 25 UConn, giving STJ its third win in program history over its league rival.
McConnell, a biology major with a GPA of 3.86, garnered third-team honors. She played in all 21 games and scored game-winning goals over Syracuse and Pittsburgh. McConnell led STJ to first-ever Top 25 ranking in the NSCAA Top 25 Poll, eventually rising to No. 17, and to its highest ranking in history in the Soccer America Poll at No. 11. McConnell helped the team tie program records with eight home victories, 10 shutouts and six BIG EAST wins, and was a key contributor in three wins over Top 25 teams. McConnell was inducted into the prestigious STJ President's Society by being academic and community service leader at STJ. A recipient of the 2009 GAAP research fund, she studied hormone refractory cancers for therapeutic targeting this past summer. Studying to become dermatologist, McConnell earned 2009 CoSIDA District I first-team honors.
