CVU girls soccer star repeats as Gatorade player of the year

Record-setting senior Chloe Pecor of Champlain Valley has been named the Vermont high school girls soccer player of the year for a second straight season, Gatorade announced Thursday morning.

Pecor is the fifth player in program history to receive the award, which recognizes outstanding athletic excellence, high academic achievement and exemplary character.

A year after scoring 27 goals, the 5-foot-7 forward reset her own program record for goals in a single season with 32 tallies, to go with four assists, in guiding the Redhawks (14-1) to Division I's top seed and quarterfinal appearance. A two-time Burlington Free Press player of the year, Pecor was also selected twice as an United Soccer Coaches All-American. She finishes her career with 82 goals and 18 assists.

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Pecor has volunteered locally as an ambassador and advocate for the Alzheimer’s Association. She has also donated her time as a youth soccer coach and on behalf of Unified Sports teams at CVU, which support physically and intellectually challenged young athletes, according to the Gatorade news release.

"Chloe is a force of nature," MMU coach Peter Albright said in a statement. "She’s a great athlete with one-on-one ability and a matching mentality. She’s a good finisher and a physical, technical worker who relentlessly defends her position."

Pecor has maintained a 3.23 GPA in the classroom. She will attend High Point University in North Carolina, but will not continue her competitive soccer career there, the release stated.

As part of Gatorade’s commitment to breaking down barriers in sport, every player of the year also receives a grant to donate to a social impact partner.

To learn more about the Gatorade Player of the Year program, visit playeroftheyear.gatorade.com.

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Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5.