Dec. 12, 2003

FAIRFIELD, CT (December 12, 2003) - Sacred Heart University senior women's soccer standout Paula Pineda (Vigo, Spain) was named to the 2003 National Soccer Coaches Association of America Northeast Region All-America Third Team announced Friday afternoon.

Pineda, a midfielder for the Pioneers, finished her career as a four-time All-Northeast Conference honoree. She was named to the All-NEC second team at midfield as a freshman and the All-NEC first team at forward in 2001 and 2002. Pineda tied for the team lead in goals with five this season, including four game-winning scores. She also had an assist to rank second on the team in points with 11. In her four years at Sacred Heart, Pineda started and played in all 73 games. She was a constant offensive threat for the Pioneers over her career, so much so that in games when she has recorded at least a point, Sacred Heart was 21-2-1. She amassed 25 goals, 10 assists and 60 points in a Pioneer uniform and led the team in scoring in 2002 with 30 points on 13 goals and four assists. She is currently third on the all-time list for goals scored (25) and points (60)

In addition to her personal achievements, Pineda has been a key to the Pioneers team success in the last three seasons. She helped guide SHU to its third-straight trip to the NEC Tournament this season and led them to the championship game recording an assist in a 1-0 win over Long Island in the semifinals. As a sophomore, Pineda helped send the Pioneers to their first-ever conference title and trip to the NCAA Tournament with an assist in the tournament.

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