Following an incredible year on the pitch, the U.S. Soccer Federation voted Tuesday to name former UNC midfielder–and current national team star–Tobin Heath as its Female Player of the Year.
Heath received 40 percent of the vote for the award, finishing just in front of another former Tar Heel in forward Crystal Dunn (34 percent).
Although the U.S. women fell short of their gold medal goals during the Summer Olympics in Rio–falling to Sweden in the Quarterfinals–it was through no fault of Heath’s.
The 28-year-old had a career-high six goals and eight assists in her 22 national team appearances in 2016. She also set a league-record during her 14 games this season with the Portland Thorns of the National Women’s Soccer League by tallying 10 assists.
“This year was a difficult one for our team, but overall we played some great soccer so it’s humbling to be recognized individually,” Heath said in a statement. “I’m just proud to be in the company of all the great players that were nominated and all of the players that played for the USA this year.”
As a Tar Heel, Heath helped lead UNC to national championships in 2006, 2008 and 2009 while picking up 19 goals and 32 assists.
She’s now added this award–an honor voted on by national team coaches and staff, as well as fellow players and USSF board members–to go alongside her NCAA titles and her World Cup title won in 2015.
Without a doubt, Heath has firmly established herself as one of the elite players not only in America–but across the entire world.
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