SAN JOSE, Calif. – A member of Santa Clara's 2001 national championship team and a three-time All-American, Danielle Slaton will be inducted into the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday, Nov. 9 at the SAP Center in San Jose. Slaton will enter the 23rd class with Ken Caminiti, Dwight Clark, Mark Marquess, and Jack Roddy.
Slaton captained the Santa Clara women's soccer team to the 2001 NCAA championship with a memorable 1-0 title game victory over North Carolina. She was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Defensive Player and earned a spot on the All-Tournament team as well as being selected the 2001 NCAA Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Slaton was a four-time first team all-conference selection and finished her Broncos career with 50 points on eight goals and 34 assists.
She then joined the USA Women's National Team from 2000-2005, winning a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Australia and a bronze medal in the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup.
As a professional player, Slaton became the first overall draft pick of the Carolina Courage of the Women's United Soccer Association and led her team to the league championship while being named WUSA defender of the year. After the league dissolved, she spent a season in Europe playing for Olympique Lyonnais club of the French First Division before becoming an assistant coach of the women's soccer team at Northwestern University from 2006-2009, where she also earned her Master's Degree in Sports Administration.
In 2015, Slaton returned to Santa Clara and as the Director of the Coaching for Life Academy. In the job, she instructs coaches, athletes, and parents how to integrate life skills development through sports. She is also a sideline reporter for the San Jose Earthquakes and a women's soccer analyst for NBC, Fox Sports, and the Pac-12 Networks. Slaton serves on the Board of Directors for the U.S. Soccer Foundation and the Bay Area Women's Sports Initiative. She has traveled internationally as a sports-for-development envoy for the U.S. State Department and is a member of Santa Clara University's Athletic Hall of Fame.
Slaton was born in San Jose and was a multi-sport athlete as a youth. At age 12, she joined the Central Valley Mercury Soccer club team, playing alongside future San Jose Hall of Famer Aly Wagner and other talented young women. The Mercury won three U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships with Slaton as a key player. Scholastically, she played at Presentation High School, helping lead the Panthers to Central Coast Section titles in her sophomore and senior seasons.
Each inductee will be recognized with a bronze plaque permanently installed on the concourse at the SAP Center at San Jose. Including the 2017 inductees, there will be 106 South Bay sports icons enshrined in the Hall of Fame. The annual induction is an event of the San Jose Sports Authority, San Jose Arena Authority, SAP Center Management/San Jose Sharks, and the City of San José. The event benefits Special Olympics Northern California and high school sports programs.
The November ceremony kicks off with a reception followed by dinner and induction ceremony. Individual tickets begin at $300 each; sponsorship and table packages are available starting at $3,000. For information and to purchase event tickets call (408) 288-2936.
About the San Jose Sports Authority
The San Jose Sports Authority is a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase the City of San Jose's economic development, visibility, and civic pride through sports. Serving as the City's sports commission since its inception in 1991, the Sports Authority has provided leadership and support to attract and host hundreds of sporting events in San Jose and the South Bay. The Sports Authority also supports and operates community, youth and amateur sports programs, including the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame and the REACH Youth Scholarship Program. To learn more, visit http://www.sjsa.org/.
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