In its third decade of honoring the nation's best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in partnership with RISE Magazine, today announced senior midfielder, Teresa Noyola of Palo Alto HS, as its 2007-08 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year.

The award, which recognizes not only athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character deomnstrated on and off the field, distinguishes Noyola as the nation's best high school girls soccer player.  A national advisory board comprised of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the country helped select Noyola from more than 337,000 high school girls soccer players nationwide.  Noyola is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special afternoon ceremony prior to the The ESPY Awards in July.

The 5'2" senior midfielder scored 18 goals and passed for 7 assists in just 16 games this spring, leading the Vikings (14-6-2) to the second round of the CIF Division II Central Coast Section postseason.  The first-ever player named Youth, Scholar-Athlete and High School Player of the Year in the same year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, Noyola is also the first ever two-time PARADE Magazine Player of the Year.  Noyola, who concluded her high school career with 40 goals and 27 assists, also competes for the prestigious Mountain View/Los Altos Mercury Soccer Club program, havine led her squad to there US Youth Soccer California North State Cup titles.

An experienced international player, Noyola became the youngest member of the US Soccer Federation U-20 Women's National Team less than one month after her 17th birthday in 2007, finishing as the team's second-leading scorer during last summer's Pan American Games in Brazil.

Noyola, who was born in Mexico and moved to Palo Alto at age three, has maintained a 4.0 GPA in the classroom and is a National Merit Scholarship Finalist, as well as, a National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholar Finalist.  She volunteers on behalf of El Molino- a youth camp in Mexico- helping to restore the endangered Lake Patzcuaro habitat, volunteering at a an educational services and activities center, and leading the formation for the area's first girls' soccer team for ages 6-12.

Noyola has signed a National Letter of Intent to play soccer at Stanford University this fall.  "Without question, Teresa is deserving of recognition as the nation's best high school girls soccer player based on her statistics on the field and the tremendous ability she's demonstarted," said GAtorade Senior VP of Sports Marketing Jeff Urban.  "But she is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young players of what a leader and student-athlete should be.  She represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient."