DePaul University Athletics
Alexa Ben named a Finalist for 2017 Senior CLASS Award
9/22/2017 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S SOCCER
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Sixty NCAA men's and women's soccer student-athletes who excel both on and off the field were selected as candidates today for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate soccer. Representing DePaul on these prestigious lists of candidates is women's soccer senior midfielder Alexa Ben.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. The complete list of candidates follows this release.
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Ben has been an integral part of the DePaul women's soccer team and its success in her four seasons as a Blue Demon. Her achievements for hard work in the classroom include selections to the 2016 NSCAA Scholar-Athlete All-America Second Team, 2016 NSCAA Scholar-Athlete All-Region First Team, and 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-District Second Team while being tabbed with BIG EAST All-Academic Team honors on three occasions.
On the field, Ben has received almost every award possible during her career at DePaul. She was the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year, BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year (2016), first-team All-Conference (2015, 2016), NSCAA All-Northeast Region (first team in 2016, second team in 2015, third team in 2014) and NSCAA All-American Third Team (2016), contributing to a BIG EAST tournament title in 2014 and regular-season title in 2016. To date, Ben is fourth all-time in goals (24) at DePaul and is second in assists with 22. Through 67 matches, Ben has tallied 70 points, placing her third all-time in Blue Demon history.
Ben carries a 3.711 grade point average, majoring in public relations and advertising.
"Alexa is one of the toughest competitors on our team and plays at a different level," said head coach Erin Chastain. "She is a student of the game and has an incredible toughness and work ethic every time she steps on the field, whether in training or a game. Alexa holds herself to an incredibly high standard and is committed to her development. She has been one of the main reasons DePaul has reached the NCAA Tournament and won conference championships."
Each of the 60 candidates has displayed a strong work ethic in the classroom and on the pitch with 30 having grade-point averages of 3.5 or higher and 12 being returning All-Americans. Outside of academics and athletics, all candidates also have been consistently involved in community service on their campus or in their communities.
Each of the two candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. Voting ballots will be made available in the near future on the Senior CLASS Award website.
Ben's profile on the Senior CLASS Award's website can be accessed by clicking here.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup® championships in December.
Men's Soccer Candidates
Marcos Arroyo, Army West Point | Joonas Jokinen, Temple |
Will Bagrou, Mercer | Nate Kohl, Ohio State |
Jon Bakero, Wake Forest | Tim Kubel, Louisville |
Josh Castellanos, North Florida | Foster Langsdorf, Stanford |
Mauro Cichero, SMU | Grant Lillard, Indiana |
Fraser Colmer, Radford | Scout Monteith, Lipscomb |
Jalen Crisler, Gonzaga | Tyler Moorman, Detroit Mercy |
Meshack Eshun Addy, Hofstra | Timmy Mueller, Oregon State |
Jimmy Fiscus, Michigan State | Wyatt Omsberg, Dartmouth |
Mamadou Guirassy, NJIT | Afonso Pinheiro, Albany |
James Haupt, Dayton | Kevin Politz, Wake Forest |
Tomas Hilliard-Arce, Stanford | William Pyle, South Carolina |
Paul Hoffmeister, Utah Valley | Jake Rozhansky, Maryland |
Niki Jackson, Grand Canyon | Drew Skundrich, Stanford |
Mark Jecewiz, Providence | Milorad Sobot, Siena |
Women's Soccer Candidates
Michaela Abam, West Virginia | Allison LaDuke, Saint Francis |
Chidera Akubuilo, UNLV | Jovani McCaskill, CSUN |
Alex Anthony, USC | Savannah McCaskill, South Carolina |
Alexa Ben, DePaul | Kristin Moyer, Portland State |
Rachel Bloznalis, Boston University | Brooke Murphy, New Hampshire |
Lauren Clem, Northwestern | Kiana Palacios, UC Irvine |
Kristen Dodson, Auburn | Alyssa Riporti, Lehigh |
Eliza Doll, Colgate | Becca Rolfe, High Point |
Imani Dorsey, Duke | Gabby Seiler, Florida |
Jessica Frey, Northern Kentucky | Clare Shea, Army West Point |
Zoey Goralski, UCLA | Andi Sullivan, Stanford |
Maja Green, CSU Bakersfield | Martha Thomas, Charlotte |
Alyssa Heintschel, Ball State | Rachel Thun-Blankenship, Tulsa |
Carlin Hudson, Yale | Michele Tremblay, Siena |
Alexis Kiehl, Dayton | Chloe Williams, Eastern Washington |
