BATON ROUGE — LSU junior midfielder Caroline Vanderpool was honored by the Soccer Federation of Quebec with this year’s Senior Excellence Award presented last week at the annual Soccer Quebec Mi-Temps Gala at the Auberge Universal Hotel in Montreal.
The award is presented annually to the premier female soccer player in the province of Quebec with Vanderpool being selected by the organization over a pair of highly decorated Canadian National Team members in Amy Walsh and Rhian Wilkinson.
“I was very honored when I got the news that I would even be considered for an award like this, much less win it,” Vanderpool said. “I’ve always looked up to Amy and Rhian for all that they’ve accomplished on the field, and it’s an honor for me to even be named a finalist with two players of their caliber. It was definitely surprising to me (to win the award).”
Vanderpool was the only representative of her province to compete as a member of the Under-20 Canadian National Team this summer at the 2006 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Championships in Moscow, Russia. The Dollard-des-Ormeaux native played every minute of group play as an outside defender for Canada in matches against China, Finland and Nigeria.
She earned additional international experience during the spring and summer months on Canada’s world tour in preparation for the U-20 Women’s World Championships as she made appearances in 12 friendly matches in Mexico (Jan. 18-27), Brazil (April 18-24), Finland (June 6-9) and Canada (Aug. 12).
Vanderpool, who hopes to represent her country in the Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, next summer, also competes in the United Soccer Leagues W-League each summer in order to prepare for the college season. In fact, she hopes to join Wilkinson this summer as a member of the Ottawa Fury in the premier women’s soccer league in North America.
Vanderpool said that because of the international experience and recognition she has earned in the past year, as well as the dedication shown by the LSU coaching staff and her teammates so far this off-season, her final year in an LSU uniform is sure to be a special one.
“Winning an award like this and competing on an international level like I have in the past year just gives me a lot of confidence heading into my senior season,” Vanderpool said. “I’m looking forward to a great season in 2007. We’ve already started preparing, and we’re all excited about what this program will accomplish in the very near future.”