Carolina's Nogueira Named Soccer America Women's Player of the Year
Dec. 16, 2008
Release courtesy of Soccer America CHAPEL HILL, N.C.--Junior forward Casey Nogueira of Raleigh, N.C., put a signature achievement on her remarkable third season for the Tar Heels as she was named the National Player of the Year by Soccer America Magazine Tuesday. Nogueira, whose two goals in the national championship game lifted the Tar Heels to a 2-1 victory, led the nation this year in total goals with 25 and in total points with 58. This is the 12th time since Soccer America instituted the award in 1985 that a North Carolina player has been so honored. Nogueira was also one of 11 players nationwide nation to the Soccer America MVP (All-America) first team while junior midfielder Tobin Heath and senior midfielder Yael Averbuch were both named Soccer America second-team MVPs. While NCAA runnerup Notre Dame and NCAA semifinalist UCLA both had two first-team choices, UNC led all schools with total selections to the first and second teams with three. In addition, freshman forward Courtney Jones of Danville, Va. earned Soccer America All-Freshman Team honors after her breakout season in which she was Carolina's second-leading scorer.
Nogueira, who wanted so badly to play for North Carolina that she moved from her home in Cedarburg, Wis., to Raleigh to be near the Tar Heels in high school, has backed up her commitment with superb performances in two Women's College Cup finals in three years at UNC. In 2006, Nogueira scored a goal and had an assist to lead the Tar Heels to a 2-1 win over Notre Dame in the final. In 2008, she scored both goals -- "world-class goals," according to UNC coach Anson Dorrance -- to lead a second-half comeback that gave the Tar Heels another 2-1 win over the Irish in the final.
Nogueira was so intent on playing for the Tar Heels that she graduated a year early from Broughton High School, which she led to a pair of North Carolina state titles. The daughter of indoor goalkeeping great Victor Nogueira, Casey learned from her father how to attack the goal. Because of her international commitments with the USA at the 2006 Under-20 Women's World Cup, Nogueira did not begin her freshman season in the starting lineup. Indeed, she didn't start her first game until the final against Notre Dame. Nogueira scored 13 goals in 24 games as a sophomore, but Dorrance pressed Nogueira on the need to improve her work on and off the ball. Dorrance insisted that Nogueira become more intense and contribute more on defense. He also counseled her on her shot selection, emphasizing different approaches whether she was inside or outside the goal. That work paid off with 25 goals and 58 points -- tops in the country -- in 2008. During the regular season, Nogueira scored four goals against N.C. State, three goals against Wake Forest and two goals against Duke, Kentucky and Texas A&M. In the ACC Tournament, she had goals in the semifinals and final and followed that up with four goals in the NCAA Tournament. Casey Nogueira
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