Women's Soccer: Rio Hondo earns sixth straight United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award

The 2017 season proved to be another successful one for head coach Jennifer Tanaka-Hoshijo and her Rio Hondo College women's soccer team on the field and in the classroom. The Roadrunners captured their fourth consecutive conference championship, advanced to the second round of the Southern California Regional Playoffs, and compiled a 15-4-2 overall.

But of all of those accomplishments, earning the program's sixth consecutive Academic Team Award from United Soccer Coaches might rank highest among the list of 2017 accolades.

United Soccer Coaches annually celebrates the academic achievements of high school and college soccer teams whose student-athletes collectively demonstrate a commitment to excellence in their studies over the course of a full academic year.

College Team Academic Award recipients are active members of the United Soccer Coaches College Services Program with a composite grade point average of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale for all players on the roster.

"We are very proud of the commitment the team has made to doing their best in the classroom and the field," said Tanaka-Hoshijo. "It is a great accomplishment to be honored by the United Soccer Coaches Association as a National All-America Academic Team for the past six years. We believe that if the girls do the work, good things will happen. This has been a foundation tenet of our program that has served us well and hope to continue in the future."

Rio Hondo has earned the Team Academic Award every year since 2013 (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018).

Five members from the 2017 squad signed National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers at the next level. Madison Mader, Sam Garcia, and Ingrid Castillo all moved down the 10 freeway to play at Cal State LA. Isabel Garay is also close by at Hope International University in Fullerton while Ashley Yepez went out of state to Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa.