NEW HAVEN, Conn. (July 1, 2019) -- It could have been a daunting experience for Cliona Crammond leaving her home country (Ireland) and attending Goldey-Beacom College in the United States. It's never easy leaving your home country and moving halfway across the world to a new culture. 

However, it was an opportunity that Crammond cherished and she shined during her time at GBC. She took her experiences and turned her career into one of the finest -- athletically, academically & community engagement -- in Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) history.

Crammond, a midfielder on the Lightning women's soccer team, capped an impressive collegiate career by earning First-Team All-CACC honors as a senior in 2018, while also collecting Third-Team All-America honors from the D2CCA. 

While she was a standout on the pitch, the Wicklow, Ireland native achieved several academic honors and took part in very meaningful community engagement initiatives with U.S. veterans, breast cancer awareness and special needs athletes.

CLIONA CRAMMOND PROFILE

General Information
School: Goldey-Beacom College
Sport: Women's Soccer
Class: Senior
Hometown: Wicklow, Ireland

Athletic Achievement
Freshman Season (2015): One of six Lightning players to start all 18 contests ... tied for 16th in the CACC with six goals and tied for 21st with 13 points ... posted a goal in four straight matches.

Sophomore Season (2016): One of eight players and one of five returnees who started all 19 games ... ended fifth in the conference with six assists, 21st with 13 points and 30th with four goals.

Junior Season (2017): Named to the CACC All-Tournament Team after helping to lead the Lightning to the semifinals ... one of four Lightning players to start all 19 matches ... ranked 46th in the nation with four game-winning goals.

Senior Season (2018): Named to the All-CACC First Team ... named a D2CCA Third-Team All-American ... named to the D2CCA All-East Region First Team ... named to the CACC All-Tournament Team for the second-straight season ... finished her career ranked among the top 10 in program history for career goals, assists and points.

Academic Achievement
Major: Financial Management
Cumulative GPA: 3.79
Awards: 2018 Google Cloud/CoSIDA Second-Team Academic All-American ... 2018 Google Cloud/CoSIDA Academic All-District I First Team ... made the CACC Women's Soccer All-Academic Team for three seasons (2016-18).

Community Engagement
Summit Retirement Home for Veterans (2018-19): Volunteering time at The Summit (a retirement home for U.S. veterans minutes from campus) to help brighten their day. Assisting with the Festival of Lights, The Summit's annual holiday fundraiser.

Hockessin Athletic Club (2018-19): Assisted athletes with special needs train and develop motor skills during HAC (Hockessin Athletic Club) Fitness Friday.

Bras for the Cause (2016-17): Participated in Bras for the Cause, GoldeyBeacom's Department of Athletics fundraiser for breast-cancer awareness that drew the College a finalist nod for the 2016 NCAA Division II Award of Excellence.

IN HER WORDS...

"I am forever grateful for every opportunity Goldey-Beacom College has provided me as a student-athlete. It has been the most fulfilling experience and has shaped me into the person I am today. During my collegiate career, I became an athletic and academic All-American and graduated magna cum laude. But these accomplishments are not the most important to me. The most important things are all of the amazing people I have met from all over the world who will remain friends for life as well as helping others in the college community and the local community. I look forward to building on all the experiences I have had in college and having a positive impact on everyone I come across. I never thought I would achieve any of the things I have as a student-athlete. It has instilled the belief in me that if you work hard you can achieve anything you want. I was the first female All-American in my school's history. I hope I have helped pave a path for other women at my school and given them the same belief. This is why I have decided to go back home to Ireland to get my Masters in Aviation Finance. Being a student-athlete has made my path in life much clearer."

Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers. The NCAA encourages member schools to honor their top graduating female student-athletes each year by submitting their names for consideration for the Woman of the Year award.

Next, conferences will select up to two nominees each from the pool of school nominees (that announcement will be made in late July/early August). Then, the Woman of the Year selection committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, will choose the Top 30 honorees — 10 from each division.

The selection committee will determine the top three honorees in each division from the Top 30 and announce the nine finalists in September. From those nine finalists, the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics then will choose the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year.

The Top 30 honorees will be celebrated and the 2019 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named at the annual award ceremony Oct. 20 in Indianapolis.

ABOUT THE CACC
The Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference composed of 14 institutions in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The member institutions are Bloomfield College, Caldwell University, Chestnut Hill College, Concordia (N.Y.) College, Dominican (N.Y.) College, Felician University, Georgian Court University, Goldey-Beacom College, Holy Family University, Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University), Nyack College, Post University of Waterbury, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University.