OVERLAND PARK, KS. - University of Hartford midfielder Caitlin Alves and UMBC back Liam Paddock have been named candidates for the 2012 soccer Senior CLASS Award, the organization announced on Tuesday.

The America East student-athletes are two of a total of sixty NCAA student-athletes who excel both on and off the field to be selected as candidates. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.

Paddock was the only America East player to be named to the all-conference first team, as well as the all-academic team.  He has started every game that he has dressed for in his collegiate career.

Alves earned All-America honors last season and is one of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of Hartford women’s soccer. She was an All-America East First Team selection, scoring 10 goals and totaling 25 points in 2011, and has a cumulative grade-point average of 3.71.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Each of the 30 candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.

The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2012 NCAA Men’s and Women’s College Cup championships. The Women’s College Cup will take place November 30 and December 2 in San Diego, while the Men’s College Cup will take place December 7 and 9 in Hoover, Ala.