The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) recognized a Slippery Rock University women’s soccer team forward for excelling in the classroom and on the field.
Senior exercise science major Nicole Krueger was one of the five women awarded a Fall Top 10 award which is given to five men and five women that have excelled in academics and athletics, chosen from the 18 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference schools.
In order to receive the award, a student must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.5 and have a significant amount of athletic achievements.
“For me, it is a huge honor to receive, and I am very thankful for it,” Krueger said. “I’ve never played for awards; I play because I love it. It is nice to get recognized, though.”
Krueger is from Scottsdale, Arizona, where she attended Horizon High School. She, along with the rest of the Horizon women’s team, won the Arizona state title in 2009.
When Krueger visited Slippery Rock, she was won over by former head soccer coach Noreen Herlihy.
Herlihy praised Krueger for what she has accomplished at SRU and what she brings to the team.
“Nicole is every coach’s dream player,” Herlihy said. “She plays with integrity and is passionate about the game. She was always extremely coachable and always fully understood her role in the program.”
In her first three seasons, Krueger appeared in 48 games and started 22 of them. She tallied six assists and seven goals over those three seasons.
She also scored two game winning goals during her junior season with the team.
Krueger continued to be that dream player during this past season for her senior campaign, tallying 14 points with a team high six goals.
She was also a part of SRU’s journey to the PSAC tournament with an 11-6-1 record overall. Krueger was named to the Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-America Team.
Krueger wasn’t just about athletics, though.
While at Slippery Rock, she has maintained a 4.0 GPA. According to Krueger, balancing athletics and academics was not too difficult because she was prepared. She thanked her parents for teaching her that as long as you work hard for the things you care about, then everything else will fall into place.
Krueger showed how much she cared about soccer and the classroom with the effort she put into both activities.
Herlihy noticed this throughout Krueger’s four seasons and praised her college career.
“She was a wonderful player and tremendous ambassador for our program,” Herlihy said. “She has carved a huge path of success over the years, and is just an all-around class student athlete.”
Krueger is continuing to carve a bigger path of success, as she is currently in Chicago doing an internship at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital’s Fitness Center.
This internship is her last step before graduating from the Exercise Science program.
Krueger is not sure what her plans are after graduation, but she plans to apply to graduate schools in Exercise Physiology and Clinical Exercise Physiology.
