OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Manhattan College's Sydney Harwood (Monroe, NY) has been selected as one of 10 NCAA® women's soccer finalists for the prestigious 2021 Senior CLASS Award ®. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition.

A Graduate Student defender, Harwood is an integral member of the Jaspers defense and a leader on the field, being named a three-time captain. During her career, she has amassed six goals, two assists and has played in 64 games, starting in 62 of them. In 2017, she was named the Manhattan College Female Rookie of the Year and earn All-MAAC second team recognition.

Her talents extend beyond the field, graduating summa cum laude with a mechanical engineering degree and boasting a 3.90 GPA. Harwood is a member of Epsilon Sigma Pi, Tau Beta Pi, Pi Tau Sigma, Pi Mu Epsilon, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Society of Women Engineers, and the Mechanical Engineering Women.

In her senior year, Harwood was Vice President of Pi Tau Sigma, where she was responsible for the organization of tutoring matching throughout the year. She also provided guidance and support to female athletes that were majoring in engineering through establishing and founding the Student Women Engineers on Athletic Teams. Harwood also has a leadership role as a member of the Manhattan College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

She is now continuing her academic career at Manhattan College, pursing a MS in Mechanical Engineering concentrating in Aerospace.

An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. 

The finalists were chosen by a selection committee from the list of 30 men's candidates and 30 women's candidates announced earlier in the season. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner, and fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through November 22. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner. 

The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2021 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup® championships in December.

For more information on all of the finalists, visit seniorCLASSaward.com.