OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (Sept. 2, 2014) – Senior forward Ashleigh Shim has been pinned one of 30 women's soccer Senior CLASS Award candidates, the committee announced on Tuesday. 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.

Shim, whose two goals against North Florida on Aug. 24 propelled the forward into the top 10 in Panther history for scoring (No. 10 goals (17), No. 9 points (44)), was named to the 2014 Conference USA Preseason All-Conference team last month. She led the squad in goals as a junior (8), while accumulating well over 60 hours of community service during the school year. She's also a four-time Dean's List recipient.

The pool of 30 candidates 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 exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.
 
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.
 
The complete list of candidates is as follows:
 

Name	Position	School
Cassie Black	Forward	Eastern Washington University
Caroline Brawner	Forward	Colgate
Jessy Brown	Midfield	UMBC
Nicole Calder	Midfielder/Defender	Kennesaw State University
Melissa Chapman	Defender	Drexel University
Abby Dahlkemper	Defender	UCLA
Kylie Davis	Midfielder	Memphis
Alex Doll	Midfielder	Stanford
Emily Dzik	Defender	Eastern Michigan
Sabrina D'Angelo	Goalkeeper	University of South Carolina
Kirsten Eriksen	Defender	American
Kelsey Fouch	Defender	Missouri State University
Anna Grant	Back	Siena College
Kylee Hathaway	Goalkeeper	Alabama State University
Kelsey Haycook	Forward	La Salle University
Sarah Killion	Midfielder	UCLA
Elise Kotsakis	Forward	Butler University
Lauren Lazo	Midfield/Forward	Princeton University
Taylor Leach	Defender	University of South Carolina
Aislinn McIlvenny	Midfield/Forward	Manhattan College
Brooke Moody	Defender	University of Montana
Chelsey Patterson	Midfield/Forward	Cal State Fullerton
Riley Ridgik	Midfielder	Wake Forest University
Taryn Rose	Defender	Utah State
Kate Schwindel	Forward	West Virginia University
Sam Scolarici	Forward	Hofstra University
Ashleigh Shim	Forward	FIU
Meghan Streight	Defender	Texas A&M
Taylor Uhl	Forward	Stanford
Stephanie Verdoia	Forward	Seattle University

Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUWomensSoccer) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUWSoccer) for all the latest FIU women's soccer news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of Conference USA. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and the FIU Football Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and enrolls nearly 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.