AUSTIN, Texas – For the second time in a row, Penn State women's soccer captain Kerry Abello was named the CoSIDA Women's Soccer Academic All-American of the Year by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) on Friday.
Abello along with fellow senior captain Sam Coffey were also selected to the Academic All-America first team. It is Abello's fourth Academic All-America recognition, earning first team accolades in 2019 & 2020-21 and second team honors in 2018.
Abello also becomes the first women's player to earn four Academic All-America honors and is the second in the PSU women's soccer program's history to earn three first-team Academic All-America accolades, joining Joanna Lohman, a three-time first-team selection (2001, 2002, 2003).
Coffey earns back-to-back first team recognition after being named an Academic All-American in 2020-21.
Penn State ranks No. 4 among all Division I institutions with 216 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans all-time.
From Batavia, Ill., Abello possessed a 4.0 cumulative grade-point average with a double undergraduate major in science and Spanish. She is currently in graduate school for biomedical engineering.
She is first Nittany Lion from the women's soccer program named an Academic All-American of the Year, the fifth woman from Penn State to earn the honor and 10th overall individual. Additionally, she is the third Nittany Lion to earn the distinction in back-to-back years.
Matt Brown (at-large, wrestling, 2015), Katie Slay (women's volleyball, 2013), Megan Hodge (women's volleyball, 2009), Paul Posluszny (football, 2006), Kelly Mazzante (women's basketball, 2004), Bonnie Bremner (women's volleyball, 1998 & 1999), John Amaechi (men's basketball, 1995), Byron Schneider (at-large, men's volleyball, 1994) and James Martin (at-large, wrestling, 1988 & 1989) also represented Penn State as CoSIDA Academic All-Americans of the Year.
Abello has appeared in 92 games for Penn State in her career with 70 starts. In her career she has scored 17 goals and 10 assists. She was a member of three Big Ten Championship teams and won two Big Ten Tournament Championships.
From Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., Coffey earned her degree in journalism in fall 2020 and embarked on her graduate degree, carrying a 4.0 cumulative GPA. A two time first-team All-American, Coffey has played 102 games in her career with 101 starts. In her career she has 42 goals and 54 assists. Additionally, she was a member of the 2020-21 Big Ten regular season championship team and the 2019 Big Ten Tournament Championship team.
This season, Abello and Coffey helped lead Penn State to the program's 27th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its fifth consecutive Sweet-16 appearance.
The Academic All-America program, which requires nominees to possess a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 3.3, recognizes the nation's top student-athletes for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. Nominees are voted on by members of CoSIDA to determine the All-American of the Year and first, second and third teams, comprised of 11 individuals each.
