SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose Earthquakes Academy midfielder Sophie Jones has been named the 2018-19 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year. She becomes the first female athlete from the Bay Area to win the national award in any sport since Ashton Purvis (track and field) of Oakland in 2009-10. The award was presented to her on Wednesday morning by seven-time NFL Pro Bowl quarterback and Super Bowl XXIX MVP Steve Young.
The Gatorade Player of the Year award was established in 1985 to recognize the nation’s most elite high school student-athletes for their athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character.