Senior defender Michael Shipp earned CoSIDA Academic All-District 5 recognition for the first time in his career after claiming first team honors on Thursday

Four Irish Soccer Players Make Academic All-District 5 First Team

Oct. 30, 2015

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Four University of Notre Dame soccer players have been named to the Academic All-District 5 first team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Thursday. Men’s representatives Patrick Hodan (Sr./M) and Michael Shipp (Sr./D), and women’s representatives Katie Naughton (Sr./D) and Cari Roccaro (Sr./D), will each appear on the CoSIDA Academic All-America® Team ballot, where first, second and third team All-America honorees will be selected next month.

Hodan (Brookfield, Wisconsin) has the opportunity to become the first three-time Academic All-America selection in Notre Dame men’s soccer history after claiming first team honors in 2014 and a third team nod in 2013. He’s tallied 75 points with 29 goals and 17 assists in 81 career matches (45 starts). A 2014 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) first team All-American and the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Offensive Player of the Year, Hodan was named to all-ACC teams (first team in 2014, second team in 2013) in each of Notre Dame’s first two seasons as a conference member. He had his first chance to break into the United States Men’s National Team system over the summer by attending a USMNT Under-23 identification camp in August at the U.S. National Training Center in Carson, California. Hodan has maintained a 3.897 cumulative GPA as a finance major in the Mendoza College of Business, and has appeared on the dean’s list in his first six semesters at Notre Dame.

Shipp (Lake Forest, Illinois) is in his first full season as the starting right back for the Notre Dame men’s program. The Irish senior scored his first two career goals on his first pair of shot attempts earlier this season, and has helped lead the Notre Dame defense to seven team shutouts in 2015. Shipp was awarded the 2013 NCAA Elite 89 Award after holding the highest GPA among all players whose teams qualified for that season’s College Cup in Chester, Pennsylvania, and was the men’s soccer recipient of the Rockne Scholar-Athlete Award at the 2013 Notre Dame O.S.C.A.R.S. ceremony. He currently carries a cumulative 3.974 GPA as a pre-professional studies and Spanish double major in the College of Science, and has been featured on the dean’s list in each of his first six semesters at Notre Dame.

Naughton (Elk Grove Village, Illinois) has compiled a stellar career as a steady presence on the Irish back line, starting in every game in which she has appeared and providing leadership both on and off the pitch. The first three-time captain in Notre Dame women’s soccer history, Naughton was named to the all-ACC second team as a sophomore and the all-BIG EAST third team as a freshman. Her academic honors include third team NSCAA Scholar All-American recognition in 2014, and she was honored with the Francis Patrick O’Connor Award, given to one male and one female Notre Dame student-athlete who displays the true spirit of Notre Dame as exemplified by their contributions and inspirations to their teams, at last year’s O.S.C.A.R.S. ceremony. A two-time participant in the Rosenthal Leadership Academy, Naughton will graduate with a degree in anthropology and Spanish from the College of Arts and Letters.

One of the most decorated players to ever wear a Notre Dame women’s soccer uniform, Roccaro (East Islip, New York) is a two-time Irish captain and former captain of the U.S. Under-20 Women’s National Team. She has made contributions from every field position throughout her career, most recently as one of the nation’s premier central defenders. She is a three-time first team all-conference selection (ACC and BIG EAST), a two-time Monogram Club Team MVP, and the 2012 Soccer America National Freshman of the Year and BIG EAST Rookie of the Year. In 2013, she was named a Soccer America first team MVP, and is a two-time NSCAA All-Southeast Region second team pick (2013, 2014). Last season, she was named an NSCAA Scholar All-North/Central Region first team honoree, as well as a third team NSCAA Scholar All-American. She will graduate in December with a degree in sociology from the College of Arts and Letters.

The Notre Dame men’s soccer team has earned nine combined Academic All-America honors dating back to the 2005 season, with 12 overall choices in the history of the program. Hodan joined Harrison Shipp (’14) as the only multiple-time Academic All-Americans in team history, as Shipp was named a second team recipient in 2012 and the 2013 Academic All-American of the Year in Division I men’s soccer.

The Irish women’s soccer program has earned a total of 26 Academic All-America scrolls in program history, the most recent honoree being two-time first team recipient Elizabeth Tucker (’14) during the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Jen Renola (’97) was named the 1996 CoSIDA Fall/Winter At-Large Academic All-American of the Year, while Vanessa Pruzinsky (’03) claimed 2003 CoSIDA Women’s Soccer Academic All-American of the Year accolades.

Both Notre Dame soccer programs are scheduled to host the final regular season game of 2015 this weekend at Alumni Stadium. The No. 14 Irish women’s team (12-4-1, 5-4-0 ACC) welcomes No. 5 Virginia Tech on Friday at 7 p.m. (ET), while the 14th ranked men’s squad (8-3-5, 3-2-2 ACC) entertains Pittsburgh on Saturday at 2 p.m. on ESPN3.

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