KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The 2017 Southern Vermont College women's soccer team was honored for its stellar work in the classroom on Thursday as it earned the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award.

College Team Academic Award recipients are active members of the United Soccer Coaches College Services Program with a composite grade point average of 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale through the 2017-18 academic year for all players on the roster. The '17 Mountaineer squad earned the seventh-straight such accolade for the program by posting a 3.49 GPA.

Eighth-year Southern Vermont head coach Michael Zauzig has seen his team win the award each year that he has been at the helm of the Mountaineers.

"First and foremost, I'm thrilled that the team is being recognized for its academic commitment during the 2017-18 year," Zauzig said. "We always set a high standard, but our 3.51 and 3.49 GPA's over the last two semesters were even better than expected. Excellence in the classroom is a requirement of the team—not a request. We understand that wins are great, but it's the degree that will matter most after their time at SVC. More than anything, I'm proud that the team has continued to set a standard and have the ability to balance academics and athletics. I'm just ecstatic that we have earned this award seven years in-a-row as it was one of my first goals after I arrived at SVC."

773 college teams collected the Team Academic Award—289 being men's programs while the other 484 were women's squads. 191 schools had both their men's and women's programs honored. SVC was joined by the Lesley University and Eastern Nazarene College women's teams as the only three programs from the New England Collegiate Conference to garner the laurel.

– #LetsGoSVC –