Nov. 21, 2008

ATLANTIC, VA. - Thirty-two of the nation's top women's college soccer players have been named finalists for the Soccer News Net Player of the Year Award. Among the 32 finalists is University of North Carolina junior forward Casey Nogueira.

The ACC's Offensive Player of the Year, she leads the ACC and ranks among the national leaders in goals scored with 22 and in total points with 52. Nogueira's hat trick keyed a win at Wake Forest, and her four goals led the Tar Heels to another ACC win at NC State. She was named the MVP in the ACC Tournament.

The editors of each of the six sites in the Soccer News Net network nominated up to six local players, each of whom will be eligible for the regional player of the year award. The nominations include athletes playing at colleges within each site's coverage area, as well as athletes from the area playing collegiately elsewhere in the country. Six additional at-large selections rounded out the nominations. Nogueira is one of the at-large selections as North Carolina does not fall within one of the regional entities run by Soccer News Net.

Fans from across the country will be able to vote for the top collegiate player. Voting began this past Tuesday, November 18 and will continue until December 15, and will be conducted on Big Apple Soccer (www.bigapplesoccer.com ), ChicagoLand Soccer News (www.chicagolandsoccernews.com ), LA Soccer News (www.lasoccernews.com ), New England Soccer News www.newenglandsoccernews.com ), Philly Soccer News (www.phillysoccernews.com ) and Dallas Soccer News (www.dallassoccernews.com).

Online fan voting will account for 40% of the total toward the award. The remaining 60% of the vote will be cast by the editorial staffs of the six web sites.