Rachel Dawson

Position:
Midfield/Back
Height:
5-9
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
Berlin, N.J.
High School:
Eastern

Graduated with distinction in December of 2007 ... Majored in business at UNC, earning Dean's List honors ... A member of the U.S. National Team ... Named the Player of the Tournament as the U.S. won its Olympic Qualifier in Russia in April to earn a berth in the 2008 Summer Games ... Nominated for the 2006 WorldHockey Women's Young Player of the Year Award as one of the top six players under age 23 ... Her jersey, No. 9, was retired by UNC in February of 2008. She is the third player in program history to have her jersey retired ... Finished her career ranked seventh in school history in goals and scoring ... At UNC, served as team representative to the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and participated in the Carolina Leadership Academy's Veteran Leaders program ... Recipient of the Three-Dimensional Leader Award, the CLA's highest honor

2007: Recognized with the Honda Award as the National Player of the Year for field hockey ... Selected as one of five finalists for the Honda-Broderick Cup as the nation's top college female athlete ... Led North Carolina to an NCAA title and an undefeated (24-0) season ... First-team All-America for the second time in her career ... With 19 goals, ranked as the top scorer for the No. 1 offensive team in the country ... Named 2007 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and 2007 ACC Tournament MVP ... Her penalty stroke gave UNC an overtime win in the conference championship ... 2007 National Player of the Year by Womensfieldhockey.com ... With Dawson anchoring the defense, UNC totaled a school-record 16 shutouts in 2007 and gave up just 12 goals in 24 games.

2006: Redshirted the season while representing the U.S. in international competition ... Named to the Dean's List for the Spring 2007 semester ... Recipient of the team's Practice Player of the Year Award

2005: As a junior, led UNC in scoring with 11 goals and eight assists for 30 points, despite missing five games while representing the U.S. in international play ... Missed three games in September while at the Junior World Cup in Chile, then was invited to join the U.S. National Team in Argentina in November and missed both ACC Tournament games ... Named second-team All-America, All-South Region and All-ACC ... Selected as the team's MVP and Practice Player of the Year ... Scored four of UNC's seven goals in a win at Davidson on Oct. 11 ... Scored all three goals in a 3-2 overtime win over Penn State on Oct. 30 ... Named to the inaugural ACC All-Academic Team and to the NFHCA National Academic Squad

2004: As a sophomore, named first-team All-America and the 2004 Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year ... Earned All-South Region, All-ACC and All-ACC Tournament honors ... Named to the NFHCA National Academic Squad, the Academic Honor Roll and the Dean's List

2003: Selected as the ACC Freshman of the Year ... The fourth UNC player to win the honor ... Named the National Freshman of the Year by collegefieldhockey.com ... All-ACC Tournament and All-Southeast Region second team ... Recipient of the team's Ken and Cheryl Williams Rookie of the Year Award ... UNC's leader in goals with 19 ... Scored eight goals in a three-game span with three against Temple on Sept. 7, two vs. Davidson on Sept. 10 and three vs. James Madison on Sept. 14 ... Named to the NFHCA National Academic Squad, the ACC Academic Honor Roll and the Dean's List

At Eastern High School in Voorhees, N.J.: New Jersey Player of the Year as a senior ... All-America and all-state in her junior and senior years ... Four-time all-conference pick and three-time All-South Jersey and All-Group IV selection ... Played on state championship teams all four years ... Also lettered for four years in basketball, earning all-conference each year, and two years in lacrosse

National/International: Named Player of the Tournament at the Olympic Qualifier in April of 2008 in Russia as the U.S. earned its first Summer Games berth since 1996 ... Helped the U.S. to a second-place finish at the 2007 Pan American Games and a sixth-place finish at the 2006 World Cup ... One of six nominees for the 2006 Young Player of the Year Award, given to the world's best player under age 23 ... Dawson was the first U.S. player to be nominated for the award ... Named Player of the Tournament as the U.S. won silver at the Pan Am Junior Championships in Puerto Rico in March of 2005 ... Member of the 2005 U.S. Under-21 team and the 2004 Under-21 and Under-19 teams ... Pulled up to the National Team for a test series against Australia in June and earned her first cap ... Played for the 2003 Under-20 team, the 2002 Under-19 team and the 2001 Under-18 and Under-21 teams

Personal: Born Aug. 2, 1985, in Camden, N.J. ... The daughter of David and Karen Dawson ... Has seven siblings: David (30), Natalie (28), Andrew (26), Sarah (24), Meghan (18), Hannah (17) and Melanie (15) ... David played football and baseball at Monmouth, Natalie played field hockey at Iowa and for the U.S. National Team, Andrew played football and baseball at Williamson Technical School, Sarah played at Iowa and is now a member of the U.S. National Team and Meghan is a member of the UNC field hockey team

More on Dawson: Favorite pastimes are reading, watching sports and beaching ... Favorite book is The Power of One ... Favorite TV show is Law & Order: SVU ... Favorite beverage is coffee with steamed milk ... Pet peeve: People who talk really loud and for long periods of time on the phone while in the car with other people ... After graduation, plans to play field hockey for the U.S. and in another country before getting a "real job" ... Dream job: Chief inventor and CEO of a major technological corporation ... Greatest athletic moment: Beating Argentina in the U.S. as part of the March on Madrid Tour ... With a completely free day, would read a book from cover to cover ... If she could have dinner with anyone, she'd pick the Simpson Family, "because they're a riot" ... Dream vacation: "Having my entire family in a mansion in the Caribbean for the sole purpose of leisure (no sports and no fighting allowed!) ... First thing she'd buy if she won the lottery is an addition to her parents' home in Berlin, N.J.