Buzzards Bay, Mass. --  The Massachusetts Maritime women’s soccer program was one of eight squads nationally to receive a Gold Ethics Award from the National Soccer Coaches of America earlier today after completing the entire 2012 season without receiving either a yellow or red card in competition.

The NSCAA recognized a total of 74 programs (both men’s and women’s) at all levels of play with their respective Gold, Silver or Bronze version of the Team Ethics Award, which recognizes teams that exhibit fair play, sporting behavior and adherence to the laws of the game as reflected by the numbers of yellow caution cards or red ejection cards they are shown by referees throughout the season.

Head Coach Ray Cabral’s Buccaneers were joined by Bowdoin College, Delaware Valley College, Grove City College, Houghton College, SUNY-Geneseo, the United States Coast Guard Academy and Westminster (Pa.) College in earning Gold Ethics Awards for their performances this past fall.

“Our student-athletes are recognized for their leadership, poise and prowess both on and off the field, and I want to congratulate Coach Cabral and our women’s soccer team for this great achievement,” Massachusetts Maritime Director of Athletics Bob Corradi says of the NSCAA honor.  “Sportsmanship is something that our student-athletes take great pride in displaying and emulating, and in turn that pride is shared throughout the entire Academy community.”

Massachusetts Maritime has ranked among the national leaders in Division III in fewest fouls committed and cards received in its five-year varsity history.  Over the last two years, Cabral has coached four all-Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference performers, including 2012 honorees Kim Courcy ’13 (Warwick, R.I./Warwick) and Katie Levesque ’16 (Wilmot, N.H./Kearsarge Regional).