Oct. 7, 2016

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Senior goalkeeper Morgan Stearns (San Antonio, Texas) of the Virginia women’s soccer team has been named a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award for college soccer, it was announced on Friday.

The all-time wins leader at Virginia with a career record of 63-7-6, Stearns has helped the Cavaliers to a 9-2-2 start to the season with nine shutout victories. She also has 31 career shutouts as a keeper, tied for second in school history.

Stearns is one of 30 women up for the award in women’s soccer. 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.

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 candidate class 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 the candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.

The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Men’s and Women’s College Cup® championships in December.

For more information on Stearns and all of the candidates, visit www.seniorCLASSaward.com.