WATERVILLE, Maine – The North Atlantic Conference announced its annual Woman of the Year award on Wednesday and Husson University women's soccer senior Caley Nault became the second student-athlete in department history to earn the award.
Nault joins former Husson softball player Kenzie Dore as the only other winner of the award in institution history.
The NAC Woman of the Year honors graduating student athletes who distinguished themselves throughout their collegiate careers in areas of academic achievement, athletic excellence, service and leadership and is one of two preeminent awards presented by the conference each year.
Member schools nominate student athletes from their own institution, then NAC athletic directors and senior woman administrators vote to select the woman of the year. Scoring for the academic achievement section is based on the undergraduate cumulative grade-point average of the nominee. Scoring for athletic excellence is based on the nominee's honors and accomplishments including awards and championships, while scoring for service and leadership is based on their involvement in campus and community activities and organizations over the course of their collegiate career. Administrators also consider a short personal statement written by each nominee.
Nault has demonstrated a strong commitment to service and leadership through her roles as a two-year captain of the Husson women's soccer team and leader within the Fighting Eagles Boxing Club and Soaring Eagles Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic. Her service efforts included youth coaching, adaptive exercise programming, community clean-up projects, and volunteer work supporting individuals with Parkinson's disease and other cognitive diseases.
Academically, Nault excelled while pursuing both undergraduate studies and a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree. She maintained a 3.93 undergraduate GPA and a 3.95 graduate GPA while earning CSC Academic All-District recognition, NAC Academic All-Conference honors, President's List and Dean's List recognition, and the NAC Women's Soccer Senior Scholar Athlete Award.
On the field, Nault established herself as one of the conference's top defenders. She earned three NAC Defensive Player of the Year awards, four First Team All-Conference selections, regional recognition, and helped lead Husson to the 2024 NAC Women's Soccer Championship.
Other nominees for the award included Rebecca Caron of Maine Maritime Academy, Skye Cotnoir of the University of Maine at Farmington, Abby Farone of Thomas College, Jessica Legendre of Lesley University, Kiara Mack of Vermont State University Lyndon, Zoe Stewart of the University of Maine-Presque Isle and Kali Wooster of Vermont State University Johnson.
