Gatorade® National Girls Soccer Player of the Year: Morgan Andrews

MILFORD, N.H., May 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 27th year of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPNHS, today announced Morgan Andrews of Milford High School (Milford, N.H.) as its 2011-12 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year.  Andrews was surprised with the news in class by U.S. Women's National Team Attacking Defender Ali Krieger, who won Gatorade Virginia Girls Soccer Player of the Year honors in 2002-03.

"It felt great to surprise Morgan with the Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year award and welcome her into one of the most prestigious legacy programs in high school sports," said Krieger.  "Gatorade has been on the sidelines fueling athletic performance for years, so to be recognized by a brand that understands the game and truly helps athletes perform is a huge honor for these kids."

Andrews becomes the first student-athlete from the state of New Hampshire to earn Gatorade National Player of the Year honors. The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Andrews as the nation's best high school girls soccer player.  A national advisory panel comprised of sport-specific experts and sports journalists helped select Andrews from more than 360,000 girls soccer players nationwide. Andrews is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.

The 5-foot-9 junior forward scored 31 goals and passed for six assists this past season, leading the Spartans (11-6-1) to the Division II state quarterfinals. The returning Gatorade New Hampshire Girls Soccer Player of the Year, Andrews played every minute of every game as a midfielder in captaining the U.S. Soccer Under-17 Women's National Team to the CONCACAF title in Guatemala earlier this month. Andrews will captain Team USA at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Azerbaijan this fall. She is also a recent invitee to a select camp with the U.S. Soccer Under-23 Women's National Team and was a finalist for 2011 U.S. Soccer Youth Athlete of the Year honors in a field that included collegiate All-Americans. The 2011 National Soccer Coaches Association of America National Girls Youth Player of the Year for club play and a two-time NSCAA All-American selection, she has 83 goals and 35 assists in three varsity campaigns. Andrews has thrice led New Hampshire's Division II in scoring.

Andrews has maintained a 3.17 GPA in the classroom. She founded and directs the Kicks for Cans charitable initiative, providing clinic-format training to area youth soccer players whose admission fee is canned food, which is donated to a local food bank. Andrews has also served as a community-outreach volunteer for Share Barn, providing clothing and moral support to area needy. She has volunteered locally as a youth soccer coach and mentor.

"Morgan is technically above her peers and has been for years," said Sheldon Shealer, ESPNHS Senior Editor for Soccer. "She's tactically smart, and she's a team leader. What I feel is most impressive with Morgan is that despite her national team and high-level club commitments, she makes time to play soccer as often as possible—and that includes with her high school team or sometimes even training with younger age groups within her club program."

Andrews has verbally committed to play soccer on an athletic scholarship at Boston College beginning in the fall of 2013.

"Without question, Morgan is deserving of recognition as the nation's best high school girls soccer player based on her statistics on the field and the impact her accomplishments have had on Milford High School's success," said President, Gatorade and President, Global Sports Nutrition Group of PepsiCo Sarah Robb O'Hagan. "But she is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young athletes of what a leader and a student-athlete should be.  She represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient."

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPNHS and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

For more information on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of former winners, and future announcement dates, visit the Gatorade Player of the Year web site at http://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GatoradePOY or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Gatorade.

SOURCE Gatorade