Gatorade National Player of the Year Mallory Pugh (with ball) has committed to UCLA.
Photo by Ray Chen
All good and bad things come in threes, we've been told, so
Mallory Pugh is just waiting for one more highlight.
Mallory Pugh, Mountain Vista
Photo by Ray Chen
The
Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) junior got the good news this morning that she was named the Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year. Great stuff.
Even better was that she got the news personally from Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion Brandi Chastain at a surprise ceremony at school.
Gatorade has been making these surprise announcements for almost a decade now, sending out past Gatorade champions to respective schools. Getting the award from Chastain was thrill No. 2 for Pugh.
She led the Golden Eagles to a 16-3 record and Class 5A state semifinals last season. The member of the U.S. Soccer under-20 women's national team scored 24 goals and added 12 assists for the team.
She's rated as the No. 1 recruit in the nation for the Class of 2016 by TopDrawer Soccer.com.
Off the pitch, she maintains a 3.68 GPA and has volunteered on behalf of Children's Hospital Colorado, Panther Pantry, Tennyson Center for Children and a youth soccer program for disabled children.
She's already committed to UCLA.
Mallory Pugh (right) is surprised with Gatorade Player of the Year award Thursday by legendary USA player Brandi Chastain.
Photo courtesy of Gatorade/Susan Goldman
