Gatorade Player of the Year: Gaby Carreiro

Gatorade Player of the Year Gaby Carreiro
(Photo Credit - Don Treeger - The Republican)

NIPMUC REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL STANDOUT NAMED GATORADE MASSACHUSETTS GIRLS SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR

CHICAGO (February 5, 2015) — In its 30th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with USA TODAY High School Sports, announced Gaby Carreiro of Nipmuc Regional High School as its 2014-15 Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Soccer Player of the Year.  Carreiro is the first Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Soccer Player of the Year to be chosen from Nipmuc Regional High School.

The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Carreiro as Massachusetts’s best high school girls soccer player.  Now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year award to be announced in May, Carreiro joins an elite alumni association of past state award-winners in 12 sports, including Abby Wambach (1997-98, Our Lady of Mercy, N.Y.), Derek Jeter (1991-92, Kalamazoo HS, Mich.), Candace Parker (2001-02, Naperville Central HS, Ill.), Alexi Lalas (1987-88, Cranbrook HS, Mich.), Heather O’Reilly (2001-02, East Brunswick HS, N.J.) and Mark Sanchez (2004-05, Mission Viejo HS, Calif.).

The 5-foot-2 senior midfielder and forward led the Warriors to a 22-1-1 record and the Division 3 state championship this past season. Carreiro scored 28 goals and passed for 12 assists with 11 tallies in six postseason games. She notched four goals in a 5-0 win over Wahconah High in the state semifinals and followed that with two more scores in a 5-0 win over Lynnfield High in the state final. A two-time Dual Valley Conference Player of the Year, she missed a pair of regular-season games to train with the U.S. Soccer Under-20 Women’s National Team. Ranked as the No. 19 recruit in the Class of 2015 by TopDrawerSoccer.com, she concluded her prep soccer career with 52 goals and 42 assists.

Carreiro has maintained an A-minus average in the classroom. She has volunteered locally as a peer tutor and youth soccer coach in addition to donating her time to a fundraising campaign to benefit Rachel’s Challenge, a program designed to motivate, educate and bring positive change to students.

“This season was Gaby’s most dominating,” said Scott Taggart, head coach of Algonquin High. “She was the most dynamic player in  the game with us. Quite frankly, I spent the whole game holding my breath when she was in possession hoping we could contain her.”

Nipmuc's coach Howard Cohen calls Gaby "the finest girls' soccer player that Nipmuc High School has produced." He further stated, "She works harder than another player I have ever coached, often training before school and after our afternoon training session. She defines the difference between playing and competing.  Yet, through all her accomplishments and recognition Gaby remains humble. [She] possesses the right mixture of a relentless work ethic, a keen sense of competitiveness, and the skill and artistry to transcend her game to the highest level."

Nipmuc Athletic Director Bill Leaver recognizes Gaby's determination, stating "what has always impressed me most about Gaby is her drive and motivation. . .She considers obstacles as challenges and embraces them to prove herself."

Carreiro has signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer on an athletic scholarship at Boston College beginning this fall.

The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport.  The selection process is administered by the Gatorade high school sports leadership team in partnership with USA TODAY High School Sports, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.

Carreiro joins recent Gatorade Massachusetts Girls Soccer Players of the Year Eve Goulet (2013-14, Sutton High School), Kristi Kirshe (2012-13, Franklin High School), Hayley Dowd, (2011-12, Peabody High School), Sam Mewis (2010–11 & 2009-10, Whitman-Hanson Regional High School), Danielle Dakin (2008–09, Minnechaug Regional High School), Hayley Brock (2007-08, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School), and Amy Caldwell (2006-07, Braintree) among the state’s list of former award winners.

You can view the video announcing Gaby's award here:


Press Release Contact: 
Matt Schiffman (312-729-3672)