Emory University seniors Lauren Gorodetsky and Kelly Costopoulos were each named to the Capital One Academic All-America team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), based on their outstanding academic and athletic achievements during their collegiate careers.
Gorodetsky, a three-time all-America defender and conference-record three-time University Athletic Association (UAA) Most Valuable Player, was named to the Academic All-America First Team, while Costopoulos, an all-UAA First Team selection in 2013, claimed a spot on the second team.
This marked the second-straight season that the duo has earned Academic All-America status, after Gorodetsky was placed on the third team last season, and Costopoulos on the second. It was the fourth time in the program's history, (along with 200, 2001 and 2012) that Emory has placed more than one player on the Academic All-America team.
Emory athletes have now claimed 147 Academic All-American honors in the program's history, including nine representatives from the women's soccer program. Gorodetsky and Costopoulos join Andrea Pawliczek (1999, 2000, 2001) and Annie Schenck (2000, 2001) as the only Eagles to be named an Academic All-American more than once. Other Academic All-Americans in the program's history include Amy Carter (1996), Emily Fedeles (2007) and Emily Rubin (2010).
Gorodetsky is also the third player in the program's history to earn a spot on the first team, joining Pawliczek (2000 and 2001) and Schenck (2000).
Gorodetsky anchored an Emory defense that finished the season ranked 20th in Division III with a 0.557 goals-against average and recorded 10 shutouts. The center back, named D3Soccer.com's 2012 Defender of the Year and the Most Outstanding Defensive Player at the 2012 NCAA Championships, started all 19 games she appeared in, adding on four goals and two assists for 10 points, including a team-best three game-winning goals. She ended her Emory career with 11 goals and nine assists for 31 points, while starting the second-most games in school history (82) and appearing in the third most (83).
Costopoulos, the Eagles' captain each of the last two seasons, also played in and started 19 games during the campaign, finishing third on the squad with 13 points, coming on five goals and three assists, including a pair of game-winning goals. The midfielder's selection to the All-UAA First team was her third career all-conference honor, in addition to being named the UAA Rookie of the Year in 2010, and to the All-South Atlantic Region First Team in 2012. Costopoulos finished her career with 25 goals (eighth in school history), 63 points (10th in school history) and 11 game-winning goals (third in school history), while setting a program record by appearing in 85 games.
To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.
Since the program's inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 20,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.
The Eagles completed their 2013 campaign with a 16-4-1 overall record, reaching the round of 16 of the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championships for a program-record fourth consecutive season.