Two America East women's soccer standouts were honored as 2014 Capital One Academic All-America selections, CoSIDA and Capital One announced Tuesday.
UMBC junior defender Nikki Boretti became the first women's soccer player at UMBC to receive the naiton's top academic honor, selected to the Division I Academic All-America First Team. Hartford senior Emma Donnelly was named to the Third Team, becoming the second Hawk in the last three seasons to be honored.
Boretti, a double major in biology and psychology, was one of three members of the first team with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
On the field, Boretti has not missed a start in two seasons and has combined for 13 points on five goals and three assists. This season, she posted career-bests in points (seven) and goals (three), while also helping the Retrievers to their lowest goal allowance in program history (11). Boretti was named to the America East All-Tournament Team for the second straight season.
In addition to her Capital One honors, Donnelly was named to the America East All-Conference First Team and the All-Academic Team after leading the Hawks to their first America East regular season championship since 2006. The Hawks closed out the 2014 season with an overall record of 10-4-5, falling to New Hampshire in the title game of the league championship.
As a member of the Hawks' back line, Donnelly helped lead Hartford to 10 shutouts and an impressive 0.79 goals-against-average, a mark that ranks among the top 50 in the nation. Donnelly and the Hawks allowed just 16 goals in 19 games. Off the field, she sports a 3.92 grade point average as a biomedical engineering major in the College of Arts and Sciences
Boretti and Donnelly are the third and fourth America East women's soccer players since 2009 to earn Capital One All-America recognition, joining Boston University's Emily Pallotta who was a third team honoree in 2009, and Hartford's Amelia Pereira, who was a second team honoree in 2012.
To be eligible for Academic All-America consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.30, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at their current institution and be nominated by their school's sports information department.