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Last Updated: Oct 16th, 2008 - 13:33:17 |
For Metro's Kylee Hanavan, there's nary
a cherry to put on top of winning two Division
II women's soccer national championships in
just three years of collegiate competition. But
wouldn't you know Hanavan's career culminated
to legendary status June 25 at New York City's
Columbia University when she was named Division
II Female Athlete of the Year by Honda.
"I think winning this award was really special
to me because I was selected out of all the
sports, not just soccer," Hanavan said. "Soccer
is still looked down upon and I think this is a
chance to recognize soccer and all its athletes."
Hanavan was chosen out of 11 other Division
II athletes from a spectrum of sports. Hanavan
is just the second soccer player in the 20-
year history of the award to be honored.
"I think being honored with an award like
this speaks volumes about (Hanavan) and not
just in the last year but in her whole career,"
women's soccer head coach Danny Sanchez
said. "I also think it speaks volumes about our
athletic department and how we've managed to
put people in position to win awards like this."
After transferring to Metro from Western
Nebraska Community College, the Northglenn
native made an immediate impact on the team,
helping the Roadrunners to a national championship
in 2004. By the end of the 'Runners'
2006 championship run in which she was team
captain, Hanavan had amassed school records
in points (206), goals (80) and assists (46).
Somehow, the hallowed forward remained
humble and grateful to teammates throughout
her career and credits her team, her coaches and
the Metro athletic department for her success.
"I think winning this award is a great accomplishment,
but I feel like it says more about
the team as a whole and our coaching staff and
how much we were able to accomplish together,"
Hanavan said.
As a team, the 'Runners have suffered only
a handful of losses and made it all the way to
the Elite Eight in 2005 before being ousted in
a shootout with Seattle-Pacifi c, the eventual
championship fi nalists.
"The main thing I can say about Kylee is that
she's always defl ected praise away from herself
and was far more concerned with winning," Sanchez
said. "She put individual accolades aside
and focused on the team aspect."
Hanavan's success on the soccer fi eld is
somewhat of a surprise as far as recruitment
is concerned. She said that she didn't come to
Metro expecting to play soccer but simply to
get a degree in social work. But according to
Hanavan, soccer factored into her success both
athletically and academically. And thanks to the
tight ship that Sanchez calls the Metro women's
soccer program, her grade point average went
from 2.8 to 3.8.
"(Hanavan's) a great example of a player
that wasn't highly recruited but was still able
to accomplish what she did," Sanchez said. "I
think her success says a lot about the success
of the team and she'd be the fi rst to say that her
success is certainly a byproduct of the team's
success."
Hanavan plans on returning to the Roadrunners
as an assistant coach next season alongside
former teammate Amy Leichliter, but said
that she has no interest in becoming a head
soccer coach in the future. She said that she is,
however, contemplating trying out at a professional
level in one of the new U.S. women's soccer
leagues.
At least she'll have something to put on her
resume if she ever does try out: Division II Female
Athlete of the Year.
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