Iowa soccer freshmen Ashley Catrell and Alex Melin received recognition for their contributions to their high-school teams by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. The pair was named to the association’s Girls High School All-America team.

The award is given to high-school athletes who participated in the 2009-10 school year. Melin and Catrell are two of 47 forwards to receive the honor.

Melin and Catrell have continued to have success at the college level. The duo tied for third place on the Iowa leaderboard with three goals apiece, and Melin added an assist for a Hawkeye team that went 8-9-3 in 2010.

Catrell and Melin join nine teammates who won Academic All-Big Ten honors earlier this month.

Three seniors (Jenna Aleo, Kali Feiereisel, and Amanda Martin), two juniors (Sarah Langlas and Gabrielle Tinner), and four sophomores (Stefani Campbell, Dana Dalrymple, Jade Grimm, and Kat Lewis) received the all-conference award on Dec. 2.

Eligible student-athletes have to be a letterwinner with at least two academic years at her or his institution. They must carry a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

"This honor is just a tribute to everything our players do in the classroom," Iowa head coach Ron Rainey said in a release. "They work very hard on and off the field."

— by Seth Roberts