Oct. 3, 2006

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina field hockey player Rachel Dawson is among six nominees for the 2006 WorldHockey Women's Young Player of the Year award, the highest international honor given to a player under age 23. The list of candidates was announced Tuesday by the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

"This is a fabulous honor for Rachel," Tar Heel field hockey coach Karen Shelton said. "On the world's biggest stage, she has distinguished herself as one of the world's best players. Everyone involved with the UNC program is extremely proud of her."

Dawson, from Berlin, N.J., has a year of collegiate eligibility remaining but is taking this season away from UNC to compete for the U.S. at the World Cup, currently underway in Madrid, Spain. She was one of just two current collegiate players to make the roster and has started all four games there.

Dawson is one of four Tar Heels to have been in the starting lineup for every game, along with team captain Kate Barber, Carrie Lingo and goalkeeper Amy Tran. The U.S. is 1-2-1 following a 3-1 win over South Africa on Monday.

The nominees were selected by a survey of World Cup coaches and international media representatives. Joining Dawson on the list are Madonna Blyth (Australia), Crista Cullen (England), Mi Hyun Park (Korea), Esther Termens (Spain) and Naomi Van As (The Netherlands). Nominees for the award must be under age 23 as of Jan. 1, 2006.

Nominees for the 2006 WorldHockey Women's Player of the Year are Luciana Aymar (Argentina), Minke Booij (The Netherlands), Kaori Chiba (Japan), Fu Bao Rong (China), Natascha Keller (Germany), Fanny Rinne (Germany), Maria Jesus Rosa (Spain) and Janneke Schopman (The Netherlands).

Winners will be determined by voting of players and coaches participating in the World Cup. The awards will be announced on Oct. 7.