YORK, Pa. - The University of Mary Washington gained seven of the 25 berths on the Capital Athletic Conference's Silver Anniversary Women's Soccer Team, including three-time conference Player of the Year Stefanie Teter and two-time honorees Kelley Walsh, Ellen Anderson and Rachel Vaccaro.
Entering its 25th year of varsity competition, the CAC selected a Silver Anniversary Team in 19 championship sports, primarily based on season-ending conference awards as voted by the conference coaches. Each Silver Anniversary Team will feature 25 former or current standouts. Men's and women's indoor track & field, which became a CAC championship sport in 2012, was combined with men's and women's outdoor track & field. The Silver Anniversary Golf Team has just eight members because the sport was added to the CAC championships list just seven years ago.
The teams will be announced early in the regular-season for its respective sport. Each Silver Anniversary Team honoree will receive a commemorative gift from the conference, and many will be recognized by their institution/alma mater at some time during the academic year.
The University of Mary Washington, a charter member of the CAC, led the conference with 153 current and former student-athletes on the Silver Anniversary Teams, including 40 in men's and women's tennis combined. Salisbury University, which joined the CAC in the 1994-95 athletic season, was second with 121 Silver Anniversary Team honorees. CAC charter members York College of Pa. (59) and St. Mary's College of Md. (35) were next in line for most Silver Anniversary Team honorees.
The CAC was organized as a six-team affiliation in 1989 and began championship competition with the winter sports during the 1990-91 season. Membership changes in the last decade ultimately created a 10-team conference that has become one of the strongest in NCAA Division III.
CAC teams have won 18 national team championships, and dozens of other teams have finished in among the top four in NCAA Division III competition.
In 2013-14, the CAC advanced more than 25 teams to post-season competition. Four CAC athletic programs finished among the Top 60 in the final Learfield Cup – the only conference in the Middle Atlantic Region to accomplish that feat. One team won a national championship (Salisbury University women's lacrosse) and three others played in the national championship game. Nineteen CAC teams won at least one game in NCAA Tournament competition and 10 advanced to at least the NCAA Sweet 16.
In the last two years, CAC student-athletes have combined to win six individual national championships at NCAA swimming or track & field competitions. The CAC student-athletes collected a record 11 Capital One Academic All-America awards in 2013-14 as well as an NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship and the Josten's Award, recognizing a Division III women's basketball player for her achievements on the court, in the classroom and contributions to the community.
In the classroom, the CAC boasts 81 Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, including one Academic All-American of the Year award winner, 12 NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship winners, five NCAA Elite 89 award winners, two Honda year-end award winners and a Josten's Award winner in women's basketball. The CAC also features an annual Academic Honor Roll that recently honored nearly 1,200 students for their academic achievements. Thousands of other student-athletes have received Player of the Year, All-America or All-Region recognition in their respective sports.
Teter was a three-time CAC Women's Soccer Player of the Year from 1993-95. Walsh was the Player of the Year in 1992 and shared the award with Teter in 1991. Anderson was selected by the CAC coaches as the Player of the Year in 1999 and 2000. Vaccaro captured top honors in 2001 and 2003. Those four standouts helped lead Mary Washington to 12 team championships in the first 14 years of CAC women's soccer. In the last nine years, seven different teams have captured the crown, including two by Salisbury University and two by York College of Pa.
More recently, Frostburg State All-American Adria Graham became the fourth player in CAC women's soccer history to win multiple Player of the Year awards.
Another member of the Women's Soccer Silver Anniversary Team, Kathy Holmes of St. Mary's College, was the 2002 CAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year and is also a member of the Silver Anniversary Women's Lacrosse Team. Holmes is one of just six student-athletes to be named to two CAC Silver Anniversary Teams.
CAC Women's Soccer Silver Anniversary Team Honorees
Name, Institution
Kathryn Amirpashaie, University of Mary Washington
Ellen Anderson, University of Mary Washington
Jenny Aspinwal, Catholic University of America
Brooke Barcheski, St. Mary's College of Md.
Sophie Esparza, St. Mary's College of Md.
Stephanie Eyler, Stevenson University
Amy Gallagher, Salisbury University
Claire Gebauer, Marymount University, Va.
Adria Graham, Frostburg State University
Kathy Holmes, St. Mary's College of Md.
Kim Hrabosky, University of Mary Washington
Laura Kaye, Catholic University of America
Johanna Klein, University of Mary Washington
Katie Klotz, St. Mary's College of Md.
Erin Kuhn, York College of Pa.
Yvonne Latour, St. Mary's College of Md.
Sharee McClellan, Marymount University, Va.
Erin Mooney, Salisbury University
Jodi Redcay, York College of Pa.
Emily Sullivan, York College of Pa.
Stefanie Teter, University of Mary Washington
Rachel Vaccaro, University of Mary Washington
Trish Vance, Catholic University of America
Kelley Walsh, University of Mary Washington
Sara Weaver, Goucher College