Annual Awards / College Soccer

PSP Amateur Player of the Year: Emily Sands

This is a basketball hypothetical you hear in debates about the greatest player of all time:

“There are ten seconds on the clock. Your team is down by two points. Who do you want with the ball in his hands?”

Usually you’ll hear answers like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant. It’s a scenario often used to give weight to players who come through when their team needs it the most. It’s a scenario designed to define a clutch player. So how does PSP define a clutch player?

”Emily Sands.”

The University of Pennsylvania women’s soccer team tied with Princeton for first in the Ivy League this season. They dominated the way all fans hope their team dominates: shut the other team out and score a lot. Penn led the Ivy League in goals scored, and Emily Sands led the team with eight goals, good enough for third in the Ivy League behind only Brown’s Abby Carchio with 10 and Princeton’s standout forward Mimi Asom with 12.

Here’s the thing: Sands, the junior forward from West Chester, Pa. scored seven game winners. That’s right, seven of her eight goals brought Penn to victory. Not even Asom netted that many game-winning goals. Penn tied Princeton for the Ivy League title with an exact matching record of 5-1-1. That means if Sands wasn’t on the team, they likely wouldn’t have claimed the title.

Call it MVP material. Call it clutch. Call it whatever you like.

We call it good enough to be PSP’s Amateur Player of the Year.

 

One Comment

  1. Great article, Ryan. Thanks for sharing and congrats to Emily.
    UNIONGOAL

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