Stevens' Julia Panko Named First Team All-American
E8 Player of the Year Adds to Her Already Impressive Resume with National Recognition
Stevens Institute of Technology junior
Julia Panko was named a 2018 United Soccer Coaches First Team All-American, the governing body announced Thursday evening at the NCAA Division III Championship banquet in Greensboro, North Carolina.
It's the second straight All-America distinction for the midfielder, who earned Third Team All-America honors as a sophomore. The consecutive accolades make Panko just the second two-time All-American in program history and the first Duck to garner first-team honors from the United Soccer Coaches.
Raba Nassif was named a First Team All-American by d3soccer.com in 2016.
"It's great for our team to be recognized when a list of the top this or that is being assembled," said Stevens head coach
Jeff Parker. "If someone or some group is putting a list together, we definitely want to be on it. This is great for Julia as she has been doing things here that no one has ever done before. She is helping raise the standard of what has come to be both possibilities and expectations. We are all very fortunate that our time here at Stevens corresponded with hers and we are all better for it."
The New Jersey native was named First Team All-East Region earlier in the week, becoming the first player in program history to earn First Team all-region recognition in each of her first three seasons.
In addition to her national accolades, Panko repeated as the Empire 8 Conference Offensive Player of the Year after finishing second in the conference in goals and points, while piloting the Ducks to their fourth straight E8 crown. Panko finished the season with 23 points and moved into seventh place on the program's all-time career scoring list with 78 points.
Also showing her prowess in the classroom, Panko was also named First Team Google Cloud Academic All-District earlier this month by the College Sports Information Directors of America. The high-scoring junior was named a Second Team Academic All-American one year ago. The results of the 2018 All-America ballot will be released in early December.
- Information for this release provided by the athletic communications staff at Stevens -
About the Empire 8 Conference
The members of the Empire 8 are committed first and foremost to the pursuit of academic excellence and aspire to be regarded as an outstanding NCAA Division III conference. The membership seeks to distinguish itself among its peer group for its quality institutions, spirited and sportsmanlike competition, outstanding services and highly ethical policies and practices. Its commitment to serve the educational needs of its student-athletes is the hallmark of the Empire 8.