Wisconsin Soccer Central

For the fourth time in the past six years, the highest honor available to Marquette student-athletes - the McCahill Award - will be presented to a women's soccer player.

However, for the first time, the award will go to a sibling of a previous winner.

Ally Miller (Mequon Homestead), who starred for the Golden Eagles from 2009 to '12, was named the recipient of the 67th annual McCahill Award. The award is given to a student-athlete for excellence in athletics, scholarship and service to the university.

Miller is the seventh women's soccer player to earn the honor, following Kelly Roethe (2000), Rhegan Hyypio (2001), Kate Gordon (2003), Laura Boyer (2008), Natalie Kulla (2012) and her older sister, 2010 recipient Katie Miller.

Ally Miller had a tremendous career, helping Marquette earn Big East Conference American Division titles and NCAA tournament berths all four years. The Golden Eagles were 67-6-9 in her career, including a 37-3-3 record in conference play. She finished with 10 goals and five assists in 88 appearances (85 starts) and was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2012.

"Ally's contribution was felt every day and she didn't just do it on the field, but in the classroom and by affecting others off the field," Marquette coach Markus Roeders said of Miller, who graduated in December with degrees in advertising and marketing. "She is one of our all-time greats."

• Chicago Red Stars midfielder Leslie Osborne (Brookfield/Waukesha Catholic Memorial) will be inducted into the West Coast Conference Hall of Honor, recognizing her tremendous college career at Santa Clara. Osborne played for the Broncos' 2001 NCAA national championship team as a freshman, was a three-time All-American, the WCC Player of the Year in 2003 and '04 and Defender of the Year in 2004 and earned the Honda Award as a senior as the nation's top women's player. "Leslie distinguished herself from the moment she first set foot on campus," Santa Clara athletic director Dan Coonan said in a news release. Osborne, who ranks sixth in school history with 44 goals and ninth with 33 assists, went on to earn 61 caps for the U.S. women's national team from 2004 to '09 and played professionally with Bay Area FC Gold Pride and the Boston Breakers before joining the Red Stars last year. The Hall of Honor ceremony is March 8 in Las Vegas, with 10 individuals set to be enshrined.
• Stef Strauss-Thompkins (Racine Horlick/UW-Parkside), a standout defender for Parkside from 2001 to '04, is one of six individuals who will inducted into the Great Lakes Valley Conference Hall of Fame on May 20 in St. Louis. Strauss-Thompkins started all 75 games in her career, helping the Rangers to a 68-9-7 record along with GLVC titles and NCAA Division II tournament berths in 2003 and '04. She is the only Parkside player to be named a first-team All-American, claiming that honor in 2004 – she also was the GLVC Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year that season as the Rangers led the nation with a 0.30 goals-against average. Strauss-Thompkins will be the third Parkside athlete in the GLVC Hall, but the first soccer player.
• UW-La Crosse announced the trio of finalists in its coaching search, and all three are state natives with ties to longtime Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference power UW-Stevens Point. Michigan Tech coach Michelle Jacob (Neenah) and Kent State assistant Abby Richter (Green Bay Southwest) both played for the Pointers and are members of the school's Athletic Hall of Fame, while Marian coach Jason Murphy (Appleton) was an assistant at Point for two years. Sara Burton stepped down in November after 20 years as the Eagles' coach to accept an administrative role in the school's athletic department. More information on the finalists
• University of Wisconsin men's coach John Trask and women's coach Paula Wilkins each had their three-year contracts extended by the UW Athletic Board last Friday. As recommended by athletic department officials, both deals run through Jan. 31, 2017. Trask has a 34-34-12 record in four seasons and led the Badgers to the second round of the NCAA tournament last fall – it was the program's first NCAA berth since 1995. Wilkins has a 68-52-19 mark in seven years at UW, including NCAA bids in 2009, '10 and '12.