2008 WESTCONN ATHLETES OF THE YEAR


Catherine Nathans - Soccer

In 2007, Catherine Nathans became the most decorated women’s soccer player to ever put on a Colonials’ uniform.  In her second season at WestConn, after transferring from Iona College, she helped lead her team to the Little East Conference regular-season and tournament titles, the NCAA New England Region Championship and WestConn’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA Women’s Soccer Final Four at Disney’s Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

This past fall, Cat led the team in scoring with 17 goals, seven assists for 41 total points.  Eight of her 17 goals were game-winning goals.  In two seasons, she has the same amount of game-winning goals as the number she wears proudly on her back each game, 14.  Lucky enough for us, we have her back for one more season.

Her long list of post-season honors are quite impressive:

She was named to -

D3 soccer.com All-American First Team

D3 soccer.com All-New England First Team

Little East Conference Offensive Player of the Year

Little East Conference All-Star First Team

New England Women’s Intercollegiate Soccer Association’s First Team

National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-New England First Team

and was the first WestConn women’s soccer player to be named to the

National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-American First Team

Tom McDonald - Football
 

Tom McDonald recently completed his playing career as one of the top left tackles the WestConn football team has ever had.  Game in and game out over the past four seasons, Tom was the last line of defense on the Colonial quarterback’s blind side.  This past fall, not only his coaching staff, but nearly every coach in the nation recognized him among the elite at his position. 

The New Jersey Athletic Conference coaches named him to their Offensive All-Star First Team. 

The coaches in the Eastern College Athletic Conference named Tom to the Southeast Region All-Star First Team.

In college football, the National Football Coaches Association Division III All-America Team is widely recognized as the pinnacle of football All-America team.  There isn’t a Second, Third or Honorable Mention category…  Since 1945 the NFCA has recognized the top players nationally and since 1965 if you were not one of the top 11 offensive or defensive players in the United States, you weren’t a true All-American.

47 years later, Tom McDonald deservingly so, became WestConn’s first-ever an NFCA All-American.