The Eastern Mennonite University women’s soccer team earned a Gold Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
The Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Award recognizes teams that exhibit fair play, sporting behavior and adherence to the laws of the game, reflected by the number of yellow or red cards they receive. The Royals were given just one yellow card over the course of their 19-game season. That 5.3% card percentage (total cards divided by total games) qualified them for the Gold Award.
This is the second straight year the Royals have been recognized by the NSCAA after they earned a Silver Award in 2015, finishing at 11.1%.
Coach Ted Erickson applauds his team for how they play the game of soccer.
“This award is a testament to the commitment of these women to play the game in a respectful way,” Erickson explained. “We’ve been able to do this consistently the past two years and actually improve this year with one less card then last year and yet still have a better record. Some may say that we are ‘less physical,’ and yet I see no stats that show teams who pick up multiple cards per game or throughout the season are any better than others. I’m proud of this group of outstanding women and their constant commitment to improving this program and moving up the ODAC standings.”
Only 15 teams across all NCAA and NAIA levels of collegiate soccer earned the Gold Award (1-10%), while nine teams earned Platinum status by receiving no cards. The Royals were the only program from the Old Dominion Athletic Conference in either of the top two tiers of awards.
Eastern Mennonite finished the 2016 season with a record of 8-10-1, a six-win improvement from the previous year. The women were 4-6 in the ODAC and hosted an ODAC Tournament game for the first time since 2006.
Click here to see the full list of teams awarded by the NSCAA.