Despite enduring many changes in the coaching staff over the last four years, at least one thing about the Southwest Minnesota State University women’s soccer team has remained constant: Kelly Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, a senior from Marshalltown, Iowa, was recently named to the 2011 Academic All-America third team.
“Receiving this honor is a huge blessing for me. I have always committed a lot of time and effort to my schoolwork, so it’s really rewarding to see it pay off,” said Fitzgerald.
Upon receiving this award, Fitzgerald becomes the first soccer player and just the 10th SMSU student-athlete to receive Academic All-America honors.
Fitzgerald has a very personal connection to the Academic All-America Award; she becomes the second member of her family to receive this honor.
“My brother was a swimmer at St. Cloud State University, and he also received Academic All-American honors, so it was kind of cool that both of us received this honor,” said Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald, a secondary education/English major, is a three-time Academic All-NSIC award winner. She has also been a two-time Academic All-District selection. She finishes her career ranked ninth in Mustang soccer history. This past season, Fitzgerald earned All-NSIC third team honors.
However, the past four years on the soccer team have not been without difficulty, says Fitzgerald.
“One major challenge we faced as a women’s soccer program has been the change in coaches over the last four years,” says Fitzgerald. “Along with the change in administration, we were extremely low on numbers, so we faced a lot of adversity the past few years.”
Despite facing the challenges of an ever-changing coaching staff and low numbers, Fitzgerald has persevered to become an All-American level athlete.
The Academic All-America awards are sponsored by Capital One. In order to be eligible for the award, athletes must, among other things, acquire at least a 3.30 GPA, have participated in at least 50 percent of the team’s games, be a varsity starter or key reserve, and be nominated by his/her athletic director.