Members of national championship teams have earned the designation of NSCAA/adidas National Player of the Year for men's and women's play at the NCAA Divisions II and III and NAIA levels. The six join NCAA Division I National Players of the Year Marcus Tracy of Wake Forest University and Kerri Hanks of the University of Notre Dame, who received the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy.

After sweeping the Division III men's and women's titles, Messiah College did the same with the Player of the Year awards. Senior defender J.D. Binger (Belvidere, Ill.) claimed the men's honor, while junior midfielder Amanda Naeher (Seymour, Conn.) took the women's. Surprisingly, no forwards were selected - the honors were separated evenly between midfielders and defenders.

All National Players of the Year were recognized at the annual All-America Luncheon held in St. Louis, Mo., on Jan. 17, as part of the 2009 NSCAA Convention.

NCAA Division II Men
Kevin Gallaugher, D, Jr., Cal State-Dominguez Hills, Walnut, Calif.
Gallaugher anchored a defense that propelled the Toros to the 2008 NCAA Division II title. Named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player of the Division II Tournament, he also claimed California Collegiate Athletic Association Defensive Most Valuable Player honors and first-team all-conference selection. Under his leadership, the Toros defense matched the school record with 14 shutouts and had nine other games allowing only one goal. With only 19 goals scored against them all season, the Toros had a mere 0.68 goals per game allowed. Gallaugher also contributed offensively, scoring five goals and converting the only two penalty kicks awarded during the season.

NCAA Division II Women
Meredith Teague, M, Sr., Seattle Pacific University, Redmond, Wash.
Teague recorded a team-high 14 goals and distributed 10 assists to pace the Falcons with 38 points, earning Great Northwest Athletic Conference and West Region Player of the Year honors. She factored into 13 of SPU’s 22 game-winning goals, including seven game-winners and assists on six other game-winning scores. She netted a golden goal midway through the second overtime on Nov. 20 against Western Washington, propelling the Falcons into the NCAA quarterfinals. Her 34 career assists are seven more than any player in SPU history and her 25 goals rank No. 4 on the career charts. She completed her career with 84 points, the fourth-highest figure in school history.

NCAA Division III Men
J.D. Binger, D, Sr., Messiah College, Belvidere, Ill.
Started all 26 games in Messiah’s championship season. He anchored a defense that allowed only 12 goals all season, none in overtime. Offensively, he scored three goals this year, bringing his career total to seven. As the leadoff kicker, converted his penalty kick attempt during the NCAA championship game shootout and earned a spot on the Division III All-Tournament Team.

NCAA Division III Women
Amanda Naeher, M, Jr., Messiah College, Seymour, Conn.
Joined soccer team in 2007 and was second-team all-conference with 32 points on 12 goals and 8 assists on the season. In 2008 she led the team in scoring with 33 goalsand picked up six assists for a team-leading 72 points.  Her single-season goal and points totals both are school records. She was named the 2008 Commonwealth Conference Player of the Year after posting five hat tricks, including three in a row. Twin sister Alyssa is a Division I NSCAA/adidas All-America for Penn State who helped the U.S. to the U-20 Women’s World Championship in Chile.

NAIA Men
Eric Winblad, M, Jr., Azusa Pacific University, Mission Viejo, Calif.
Junior midfielder Eric Winblad of Azusa Pacific (Calif.) University is the 2008 Brine-NAIA National Player of the Year. Winblad finished the season with 16 points on six goals and four assists. The Golden State Athletic Conference Player of the Year, he led the Cougars to a No. 5 season-ending ranking and a 13-4-3 record. He becomes the first ever APU player to receive this honor and just the second in the conference.

NAIA Women
Jackie Pronovost, D, Sr., Concordia University (Ore.), Milwaukie, Ore.
Pronovost was named a first-team NSCAA/adidas All-America for the fourth consecutive season, becoming just the fifth player in NAIA history to achieve the feat all four years. In addition, she became the second Concordia player to be named the National Player of the Year, with Caitie Davidson taking the honor following the 2004 season. Pushing her streak to 94 straight contests, Pronovost started every match of her career. She scored one goal and notched eight assists from the back line this season while helping the Cavs post 15 shutouts and a meager 0.51 goals allowed per game average.

NSCAA members log in to comment. Not a member? Learn more today.