BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Nov. 9, 2023) - At the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championship awards banquet for women's soccer this evening, conference commissioner Dan Mara presented Georgian Court senior Emily Clayton as the Top XVII award winner. 

The Top XVII Award is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the CACC championships. It is modeled after the NCAA Elite 90 Award.

In order to be considered, the student-athlete must have earned at least 48 college credits toward their GPA (at their current institution), as well as being a member of the active roster. In the event of a tie, it is broken by the total number of credit hours earned. 

Clayton is a senior in her third year at Georgian Court. She's a dual major in Exercise Science and Education K-12 with a 4.0 grade point average. 

On the field, Clayton has been a vital part of the Lions backline. The defender has played in all 18 games making 17 starts. She's helped the Lions to a 6-6-6 record thus far this season as GCU went 4-2-5 in the CACC. GCU earned the number seed in the CACC Tournament and upset third-seeded Caldwell to advance to the semifinals. 

This season, Clayton has totaled 1441 minutes, third most on the team. She has two goals and two assists for six points. She's also helped a Lion defense which has allowed just 24 goals this season and just 15 in conference play. Only twice this season has GCU allowed more than two goals and no more than three in any game. They've shutout their opponent three times including the last two games and surrendered one or fewer goals in 10 of 18 games.