Press release
KENNEDY FULLER Named 2022-23 Gatorade National GIRLS SOCCER Player Of The Year
Chicago Red Stars' Mallory Swanson Surprises Winner with Honor SOUTHLAKE, Texas, June 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 38th year of honoring the nation's most
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[{"type":"text","content":"Chicago Red Stars' Mallory Swanson Surprises Winner with Honor\nSOUTHLAKE, Texas, June 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In its 38th year of honoring the nation's most elite high school athletes, Gatorade today announced Kennedy Fuller of Carroll High School in Southlake, Texas is the 2022-23 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Fuller won the prestigious award for her accomplishments on and off the field, joining an impressive group of former Gatorade National Girls Soccer Players of the Year who have combined for more than 17 gold medals and nine National Championships. \nChicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson virtually surprised Fuller with the news, while her family, coaches and teammates showed up with the trophy at school. Check out a video of the announcement here.\nThe Gatorade Player of the Year award recognizes athletes not just for their excellence on the playing surface, but for their commitment in the classroom and impact in their community. Fuller beat out nearly half a million other student-athletes who play girls soccer nationwide, topping the list of state winners in girls soccer who collectively boast an incredible list of accomplishments, including 44 with signed National Letters of Intent to play girls soccer at Division I colleges/universities and 32 with a GPA of 4.0 and above. \n\"Kennedy Fuller is a once-in-a-generation talent,\" said J.R. Eskilson, National Analyst for PrepSocccer.com. \"In the two decades I've been scouting elite youth players, there are only a handful of players who I would consider to be her peer or her equal—both in terms of ability at her age as well as projected ceiling. Fuller is the full-package: Dynamic, driven and detail-oriented. A determined student of the game, she used her second season in high school to one-up her incredible debut campaign, producing one dominant display after another. She was surrounded by some of the best talent in the country this year and she shined, but she also made everyone around her better. An escape artist on the dribble, a magician with her passing and a scoring threat from anywhere on the field, Kennedy Fuller is 'Showtime' on a soccer pitch.\"\nThe state's returning Gatorade Player of the Year, the 5-foot-5 sophomore midfielder scored 55 goals and passed for 26 assists this past season, leading the Dragons (26-1) to the Conference 6A s...