Penn State soccer’s Raquel Rodriguez among nation’s top athletes

Penn State’s Raquel Rodriguez was named one of three finalists for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year.

The Nittany Lion women’s soccer standout was honored along with Sierra Romero, of the Michigan softball team, and Breanna Stewart, from the Connecticut basketball team, at the Galen Center at the University of Southern California.

“It is a huge honor, I am very, very grateful with God first of all,” Rodriguez said after the ceremony Monday night. “It is just an honor, the women that are here, they are all legends, it keeps you humble. To be a part of this group is just something I would never have imagined.”

Stewart won the award.

Rodriguez won the MAC Hermann Trophy as the nation’s top player after leading the Nittany Lions to the national championship, and she also is nominated for an ESPY award as the nation’s best female collegiate athlete, to be awarded from ESPN on July 13.

This story was originally published June 28, 2016 at 11:06 PM with the headline "Penn State soccer’s Raquel Rodriguez among nation’s top athletes."