Feb. 4, 2004
NEW YORK CITY - Santa Clara University women's soccer team members Leslie Osborne and Julie Ryder were named All-Americans by Soccer Buzz. Osborne, a midfielder, was named to the magazine's second team, while Ryder, a goalkeeper, earned honorable mention honors.
A junior from Menomonee Falls, Wis., Osborne was a leader for the Broncos this past season and has already been honored with Soccer America MVP and CSTV All-America honors. Additionally, she was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year, marking the sixth time in the last seven years that the honor has been received by a Bronco. She was also named to All-WCC first team, becoming only the 10th player in the league to earn the honor three times. She was named a Soccer Buzz first team All-West Region honoree last week.
Ryder, of DeKalb, Ill., is a first-team All-West Coast Conference honoree, and with that recognition, became the first freshman goalkeeper to garner first-team honors since 1997. Ryder started 17 contests and ranked 12th in the country with a 0.574 goals-against average. She posted nine shut outs, including three in the NCAA Tournament, and boasted a 12-2-3 record, her only losses to second-ranked Notre Dame and NCAA Champion North Carolina. Ryder made 52 saves on the season and was recently named to the U19 National Team. She was named a Soccer Buzz second team All-West Region and All-Freshman West Region honoree last week.
NCAA Champion North Carolina swept the top three major awards, marking the first time one school has won the National Player, Freshman and Coach of the Year in the same season since the inception of Soccer Buzz awards in 1996. Lindsay Tarpley was named Player of the Year, Heather O'Reilly the National of the Year and Anson Dorrance as Coach of the Year. Players and coaches from 298 Division 1 programs were eligible in voting open to all Division 1 head coaches and Soccer Buzz staff.
A complete listing of All-Americans can be found at SoccerBuzz.com.