Azusa Pacific men's and women's soccer were recipients of the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award, which was announced Thursday afternoon. In order to qualify for the award, a team had to post a composite team grade point average of 3.0 or better among all players on the roster for the 2020-21 academic year.
The women's program posted a 3.68 cumulative GPA, which earned them the Team Academic Award for the third-consecutive year. Of the 28 student-athletes on the Cougars' roster in 2020-21, 26 had a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, including 23 who finished at 3.5 or above.
"Academics is an area we really pride ourselves in as we are pursuing excellence in all areas not just soccer," head coach
Brooke Lincoln said, "I'm really proud of our players for truly being student-athletes and taking their academics seriously. They are going to be difference makers in their communities in the coming years so be on the lookout!"
The men's team earned the award for the second time in a row after posting a cumulative team GPA of 3.39, which is the highest team GPA the program has seen in the NCAA era, besting their team best from last year of 3.3.
"I am extremely proud of the effort the team put in during the 2020-21 year in their academic pursuits," said head coach Dave Blomquist, "We made it our goal to achieve over a 3.0 GPA and we were able to do just that. The credit goes to our student-athletes for working extremely hard and holding each other accountable, and it also goes to the tremendous support staff we have at Azusa Pacific, both in the athletic department and across the campus. We have so many people that care about our student-athletes, it is truly amazing."
Both programs have finished the nonconference portion of their schedules and will travel to Hawai'i to open PacWest play. The women's team is 5-2 and will take on Hawai'i Hilo on Wednesday, September 29th and kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. Hawai'i Standard Time / 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time. The men's team is 4-1-1 and will take on Hawai'i Hilo directly after the women's game on Wednesday, September 29th at 2:30 p.m. Hawai'i Standard Time / 5:30 p.m. Pacific Time.
