Mountain Vista High School junior Mallory Pugh was named the Gatorade Colorado Girls Soccer Player of the Year and is a finalist for Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year which will be announced later this May.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program will pick the top player each year from football, girls and boys soccer, girls and boys basketball, girls volleyball, softball, baseball, girls and boys track and field and football and honor them with the very prestigious award.

Past state winners include Abby Wambach, one of the best players on the current U.S. Women’s National team; Derek Jeter, a five time World Series champion and named the New York Yankees player of the year five times; and Candace Parker who plays for the Los Angeles Sparks and is known for being the first women to dunk during the NCAA Tournament.

Pugh was also named National Soccer Coaches Association of America’s 2014 Youth National Player of the Year and plays with the U.S Soccer Under-20 Women’s National Team.

The forward has helped to lead Vista to a 16-3 record and a No. 1 ranking going into the playoffs. She had 24 goals and 12 assists in 19 games this season which has made her the No. 1 recruit in the U.S. for the class for 2016.

Pugh has verbally committed to play at UCLA with an athletic scholarship starting in the fall of 2016.
For more information regarding the Gatorade Player of the Year selection please visit www.gatorade.com/poy.