SEATTLE – Seattle University Athletics has announced its Hall of Fame honorees for 2023 which includes a pair of highly decorated Redhawk soccer players in Stephanie Verdoia, '15 and Kyle Bjornethun, '21. The pair will join elite company in the Seattle U Athletics Hall of Fame and be formally introduced and honored on Friday, February 10, 2023 as part of the 36th Annual Seattle U Alumni Awards.
Verdoia, a Salt Lake City native, is easily an all-time program great for Seattle U women's soccer. A four-year starter from 2011-14, she scored a school record 51 goals and added 30 assists while leading the Redhawks to back-to-back Western Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships in 2013 and 2014. The 2014 season was capped by a second straight NCAA Tournament appearance, and the program's first Division I tournament win - a 2-1 overtime victory at Pac-12 member Washington State.
Verdoia's athletic accomplishments were rewarded in full. In 2014 she was named National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Third Team All-American, NSCAA First Team All-West Region, WAC Tournament MVP, WAC Offensive Player of the Year and First Team-All WAC. The year prior, she had earned NSCAA Second Team All-West Region, WAC All-Tournament Team, WAC Offensive Player of the Year and First Team All-WAC.
But her recognition did not stop on the pitch. The political science major was named the 2014 Capital One Academic All-America of the Year for women's soccer while also earning a spot on the Academic All-America First Team. She was also the 2014 Senior CLASS Award winner for NCAA DI women's soccer, awarded annually to the most outstanding senior student athlete in DI women's soccer.
A 2015 NCAA Woman of the Year Top 30 candidate, Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup semifinalist and Seattle Sports Commission Female Sports Star of the Year, Verdoia went on to become the first Seattle U student athlete from a women's team to be drafted by a United States pro league when she was drafted by the National Women's Soccer League's (NWSL) Boston Breakers in January 2015.
Bjornethun, a Snohomish, Wash., native, was a standout defender for the Redhawks from 2013-16. He led Seattle U to WAC regular season and tournament championships in 2013 and 2015. The team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament both seasons, picking up wins over Creighton and UCLA.
Bjornethun made an immediate impact on the program, capping his freshman season by being named 2013 WAC Freshman of the Year, Second Team All-WAC and NSCAA Second Team All-West Region. He went on to be named a two-time WAC Defensive Player of the Year (2015, 2016), three-time First Team All-WAC (2014, 2015, 2016) and three-time WAC All-Tournament Team selection (2013, 2014, 2015).
In 2015, he was honored among the nation's best, earning NSCAA First Team All-West Region and Second Team All-American honors. In 2016 he was named to the prestigious MAC Hermann Watch List, the highest award in college soccer, presented annually to one female and one male athlete.
Bjornethun became the third player in program history to be picked in the MLS SuperDraft, selected by the Seattle Sounders FC in the fourth round of the 2017 Draft. He went on to compete for USL sides including Portland Timbers 2, Toronto FC II, FC Tucson and, most recently, Phoenix Rising.
More information about the 36th Annual Alumni Awards can be found here.
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