Jessie Fleming Nominated for Honda Award
December 13, 2017 | Women's Soccer
UCLA sophomore midfielder Jessie Fleming has been chosen as one of four nominees for the Class of 2018 Honda Sport Award for Soccer.
A team co-captain as just a sophomore, Fleming helped lead UCLA to the College Cup final and scored a goal in the NCAA Championship match, en route to College Cup All-Tournament honors. This season, she earned first-team United Soccer Coaches All-America honors, a year after becoming one of just two freshmen and just the fourth UCLA freshman ever to receive All-America acclaim. Fleming also received first-team All-West Region and All-Pac-12 honors for the second-straight year. UCLA's playmaker, Fleming recorded six goals, including three game-winners, and provided eight assists, marking the second consecutive year in which she scored 20 or more points in a season. As a freshman in 2016, she led UCLA in goals (11) and points (27) and was the Top Drawer Soccer National Freshman of the Year. She scored two goals in her first game as a Bruin, less than 10 days after helping Canada win a bronze medal at the Olympics.
Fleming has been a member of the full Canadian National Team since making her debut in 2013 at the age of 15, playing for Canada at the 2016 Olympics, 2015 Women's World Cup and 2015 Pan American Games. She was the 2016 and 2015 U-20 Canadian Player of the Year and the 2014 U-17 Player of the Year. In 2017, she is a finalist for the CONCACAF Female Player of the Year and a nominee for the Canadian Women's National Team Player of the Year. She was named the U-20 Canadian Female Player of the Year for 2017, her third consecutive honor.
In addition to her on-field success, Fleming has been a standout in the classroom, earning honorable mention Pac-12 All-Academic honors as a materials science engineering major.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 42 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies "the best of the best in collegiate athletics". The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2018 Honda Cup which will be presented on a live telecast on CBS Sports Network on Monday, June 25, 2018, in downtown Los Angeles.
The other finalists for the 2017 Honda Award are senior forward/midfielder Imani Dorsey from Duke, senior forward Savannah McCaskill from South Carolina and senior midfielder Andi Sullivan of Stanford.
The nominees were chosen by a panel of coaches representing the United Soccer Coaches (USC). The Honda Sport award winner for soccer will be announced next week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.
Honda Sport Award winners will be presented with the honor during on-campus presentations throughout the year and all Honda Sport Award winners become a finalist for the prestigious 2018 Honda Cup award presented in June.
The CWSA, celebrating its 42nd year, has honored the nation's top NCAA women athletes for their superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its sponsorship in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.1 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women's athletics programs.
