One more remarkable chapter was added last month to the storybook career of UCSD soccer-standout Cindy Dostalek.
Guardian
She was named 2000-2001 California Collegiate Athletic Association Female Athlete of the Year.
Dostalek, a 5-4 forward from Sierra Madre, Calif., dominated in the Tritons’ first year of Division II play, leading her team to a 21-2 record and her third national title in four years.
Undeniably the leader of the team, Dostalek was second on the team with 12 goals. One of those goals was the game-winning goal with 15 seconds left in the national championship game against Northern Kentucky. She was also second in assists with nine, and second on the team with 33 points.
Guardian
She finished her career as a Triton with 32 goals, which is eighth all-time at UCSD. Twenty-nine assists tie her for fourth in UCSD history, and 93 points place her seventh in UCSD history.
This award, though arguably the biggest, is just one of many honors that Dostalek has accumulated while at UCSD.
Dostalek has twice been named UCSD’s Athlete of the Year, winning the award for the past two years. She is also a three-time All-America selection.
In addition to these prestigious awards, Dostalek was highly decorated her senior year.
She was a member of the NCAA Division II Championship All-Tournament Team and was named Outstanding Offensive Player of the NCAA Division II Championship. Dostalek was also named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-American first team, All-CCAA first team and the All-Far West Region first team.
She was also a finalist for the Honda Award, given to the Division II Collegiate Woman of the Year, and was invited to the Umbro Select All-Star Classic.
Locally, Dostalek was named UCSD’s Woman of the Year, one of 12 UCSD athletes of the year and the Guardian’s 2000-2001 Female Athlete of the Year.
What is especially impressive is that she did all of this while making the jump from Division III to Division II competition. It might have been intimidating for some players to step right into one of the toughest Division II conferences in the nation, but Dostalek handled it with ease, as she seemed to do with the competition she faced throughout her career.
Dostalek is a very special player who, as her statistics show, is more than deserving of all of the awards that she has received throughout her career.
