By: Frank Maira, Assistant Director of Athletics/Sports Information Director
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Two Penn State Mont Alto women's soccer student-athletes received All-American awards at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association banquet last week with classmates Kara Newell (Shippensburg, Pa. / Shippensburg) and Tori Stouffer (Orrstown, Pa. / Cumberland Valley Christian) both receiving Honorable Mention laurels.
Newell picks up her second All-American honor after being recognized after her freshman season. An attacking midfielder, she led Mont Alto in assists with eight, which tied for most within the PSUAC and ranked second within the entire USCAA. Along with her eight helpers, she also fired in four goals this season, which marked a career-high. The sophomore finished with 16 points in 2019 and fired a total of 27 shots, including 15 that were placed on target.
Tori Stouffer (Orrstown, Pa. / Cumberland Valley Christian), also an Honorable Mention selection was honored for the first time by the USCAA. She started in every match for the Nittany Lions across the field. She made five appearances in goal and was named PSUAC Goalkeeper of the Week after recording three-straight shutouts during the week of October 15. The midfielder was even more potent as a field player leading the squad in points (25), goals (11) and game-winning goals (3). Her 25 points ranked her 15th within the nation and her 11 goals were the fourth most in the PSUAC conference.
The USCAA announced the All-American award winners along with the All-Academic Teams at the Championship Banquet, which was held at the Virginia Beach Convention Center on Thursday evening as part of the USCAA National Championships.
Penn State Mont Alto had Madison Bishop (Newville, Pa. / Big Spring), MaryAnna Black (Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Cumberland Valley) and senior Maddie Shirley (Biglerville, Pa. / Biglerville) recognized on the USCAA Division 2 National All-Academic Team. Each of the student-athletes played significant roles in helping Mont Alto finish with an 8-6-1 overall record, including a 4-1-1 mark in the PSUAC that placed the team second in the regular season standings and led to hosting its first conference postseason tournament semifinals game in program history.
All student-athletes must have 24 or more credits on their USCAA transcripts and their cumulative grade point average must be a 3.50 or greater to be eligible for the recognition. A full list of the 2019 USCAA Women's Soccer National All-Academic Award winners can be found here and a complete listing of the All-Americans can be found here.
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