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Cindy Daws
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Jan. 12, 1998
Cindy Daws Wins Honda-Broderick Cup
Award Honors Collegiate Woman of the Year
ATLANTA, Ga. -- Former Notre Dame women's soccer All-American Cindy
Daws has been named the 21st recipient of the Honda-Broderick Cup. The award is
presented annually to the nation's outstanding collegiate woman athlete as part
of the year-long Honda Awards Program which recognizes collegiate athletic
achievement among women.
The announcement and presentation were made Monday,
January 12, at the 21st annual Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year Dinner in
Atlanta, Ga., site of the 1998 NCAA Convention. The winner of the
Honda-Broderick Cup reflects not only the individual athletic achievements, but
also embodies the ideals of team contribution, scholastic endeavor, school and
community involvement and those personal characteristics that are reflected in
the philosophy of intercollegiate athletics.
The Northridge, Calif., native,
was a finalist for the soccer Honda Award in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Daws was
chosen by a national vote involving more than 800 NCAA-member schools. She was
selected from the nine other Honda Award winners from their respective sports
for the 1996-97 school year. Among the other finalists for the award were
Tennessee basketball player Chamique Holdsclaw, Hawaii volleyball player
Angelica Ljungquist, Stanford tennis player Lilia Osterloh and USC swimmer
Kristine Quance.
"This is more special to me than any award that I've
ever been given because it recognizes me as a well-rounded person," said Daws.
"It recognizes the challenges of being a student-athlete in a truly collegiate
atmosphere and balancing the demands of the student-athlete. All of the past
winners have become so successful in what they've done and have achieved such
great things. To be considered among them is amazing. "
Daws is the
third consecutive BIG EAST Conference student-athlete to win the Honda-Broderick
Cup following Connecticut women's basketball players Jennifer Rizzotti in
1995-96 and Rebecca Lobo in 1994-95. Past winners of the Honda-Broderick Cup
have included basketball gold medalists Lobo, Dawn Staley and Cheryl Miller,
soccer gold medalist Mia Hamm, softball gold medalist Lisa Fernandez, swimming
goal medalist Tracy Caulkins and track and field gold medalist Jackie
Joyner-Kersee.
During Daws' four years at Notre Dame from 1993-96, the
Irish compiled an 87-8-3 record. She scored the biggest goal in Notre Dame
history, connecting on a free kick in triple overtime in the 1995 NCAA title
game against Portland to give the Irish a 1-0 victory and their first NCAA
national championship. She ended her career with a school-record 61 goals and 67
assists for a school-record 189 points. A three-time All-American, Daws became
the first Notre Dame soccer player to win the Hermann Trophy and the Missouri
Athletic Club player of the year award, both given annually to the outstanding
collegiate player.
"This a great honor for Cindy and something that she
certainly deserves," said Notre Dame head coach Chris Petrucelli.
"She put Notre
Dame women's soccer on the map when she first arrived here and has made our team
one of the premier programs in the country. Without Cindy Daws, we would never
have had the success we've had in the '90s."
Upon her arrival as a freshman
in 1993, Daws led the Irish to their first-ever NCAA appearance and was the only
freshman to earn All-America honors. As a sophomore, she recovered from a broken
foot that she suffered while playing with the U.S. national team to finish
second in the balloting for both the Hermann Trophy and the MAC award while
leading the Irish to their first NCAA championship game appearance.
She
also was a finalist for the Hermann and the MAC award as a junior despite
missing the first four games of the season recovering from foot surgery. She was
named the offensive MVP of the NCAA semifinals and final with her goal against
Portland. While becoming Notre Dame's all-time leading scorer as a senior, Daws
was named the most outstanding player of the BIG EAST championship and led the
Irish to their third straight NCAA title game appearance. She capped off her
career by claiming the Hermann Trophy and MAC award.
Daws currently plays for Suzuyo FC in the Japanese women's soccer
professional league, leading her team to the league's playoff semifinals which
will be played on Thurs., Jan. 14.
