Satellite’s Ashlyn Harris Leads Scorpions To Consecutive Soccer Titles

By  //  June 15, 2019

FLASHBACK: 2012 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME inductee

ABOVE VIDEO: Ashlyn Harris lead Satellite High to the Class 3A state titles in 2002 and 2003 under coach Fitzgerald Haig during her sophomore and junior seasons.

ASHLYN HARRIS – 2012 INDUCTEE

Ashlyn Harris

• Parade Prep Player of the Year

• 3 NCAA Championships

• Women’s Pro Soccer Champion

PARADE MAGAZINE PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Ashlyn Harris lead Satellite High to the Class 3A state titles in 2002 and 2003 under coach Fitzgerald Haig during her sophomore and junior seasons.

In 2002, the Scorpions defeated Plant City Durant 2-0 in the semifinals and St. Thomas Aquinas 5-4 in a penalty-kick shootout after the teams finished regulation and overtime tied 0-0. In 2003, Satellite edged Pensacola 1-0 in the state semifinals before edging St. Thomas Aquinas on penalty kicks.

Harris, who was born on Oct. 19, 1985,  was a Parade Magazine All-America in each of her four years of high school.

During her senior year, she was the Parade magazine Player of the Year, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Player of the Year and the Gatorade National Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year.

NCAA CHAMPION

As a senior at the University of North Carolina in the fall of 2009, Harris helped the Tar Heels win their 20th NCAA  title in the 28-year history of the NCAA Tournament.

She posted a shutout as North Carolina blanked Stanford 1-0 in the final.  Harris also posted a shutout in the NCAA semifinals when the Tar Heels defeated Notre Dame 1-0.

The NCAA title was the third for a group of nine North Carolina seniors – Harris, Ashley Moore, Heath, Sterling Smith, Nikki Washington, Caroline Boneparth, Whitney Engen, Casey Nogueira and Kristi Eveland – who also played for championship teams in 2006 and 2008.

In 2005, Harris tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee during her first practice with North Carolina and was forced to redshirt. That next summer, she tore her ACL again.

She returned for the final six regular-season games and played during the second half of NCAA Tournament victories against North Carolina-Asheville, Navy, Tennesse, Texas A&M, UCLA and Notre Dame as the Tar Heels won the Women’s College Cup.

The 5-foot-9 Harris was named to the 2009 Women’s College Cup All-Tournament Team. She was third in the nation with a goals against average of 0.416.

She posted 12 solo shutouts, allowing only 10 goals in 2,163 minutes. North Carolina, which finished with an overall record of 23-3-1, won its final 11 matches. In the 2008 NCAA Championship Game, Harris played the first half of the Tar Heels’ 2-0 victory against Notre Dame.

Harris did not join North Carolina for the 2004 season because she was playing for the U.S. Under-19 National Team in the 2004 FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Championships in Thailand.

Harris did not join North Carolina for the 2004 season because she was playing for the U.S. Under-19 National Team in the 2004 FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Championships in Thailand.

The squad won five of its six matches, as she finished her Under-19 career with 39 caps. In the 2002 FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Championship,

Harris was the goalkeeper as the U.S. defeated Canada 1-0 in overtime to win before 47,784 hostile fans at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

The U.S. won each of its six matches, outscoring the opposition 26-2 in the inaugural event. Harris was the youngest starter on the squad. Harris is currently one of four goalies in the U.S. player pool.

WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL SOCCER

As the starting goalie for the Western New York Flash last summer, Ashlyn Harris helped the expansion Flash win the Women’s Professional Soccer championship. (Getty)

As the starting goalie for the Western New York Flash last summer, Harris helped the expansion Flash win the Women’s Professional Soccer championship.

In the 2011 WPS championship match against the Philadelphia Independence, Harris stopped Laura del Rio’s penalty kick in a shootout to help Western New York cap a season to remember.

Western New York finished the regular season with a 13-2-3 record as Harris had a goals against average of 1.0 and was named the 2011 Coast Guard Goalkeeper of the Year.

She also served as a backup goalkeeper for the United States Women’s National Team that won the 2015 World Cup over Japan.

Harris is now the current starting goalkeeper for the Orlando Pride.

Serving on the 2020 committee are Space Coast Daily President and Publisher Tom Palermo, Vice President Giles Malone, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Jim Palermo, Managing Editor Zach Clark, Senior Editor Chris Bonanno, Assistant Editor Jordan Rocco, Friday Night Locker Room co-founders Steve Wilson and Orville Susong, former Health First COO Larry Garrison and Amateur Athletic Union Vice President Rusty Buchanan.

SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME HONORS BREVARD’S RICH SPORTS HISTORY: The Space Coast Daily– Friday Night Locker Room Team is Brevard’s #1 Sports Source

For more than a century, athletes from Brevard County have been considered among the finest in America and their accomplishments are honored and immortalized by the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.

Space Coast Daily created the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 and inducted its first class in 2012 and has so far inducted more than 150 of Brevard’s most outstanding athletes, coaches and sports personalities.

MEMBERS INDUCTED IN FOUR CATEGORIES

Nominees are chosen in four categories including professional sports, college sports, high school sports and amateur-rec sports. Special honorary recognition is also be bestowed upon individuals and groups that have made significant contributions to sports on the Space Coast.

A special committee will select the Class of 2020, and the inductees will be enshrined in the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame on Friday, May 8, 2019.

Serving on the 2020 committee are Space Coast Daily President and Publisher Tom Palermo, Vice President Giles Malone, Editor-in-Chief Dr. Jim Palermo, Managing Editor Zach Clark, Senior Editor Chris Bonanno, Assistant Editor Jordan Rocco, Friday Night Locker Room co-founders Steve Wilson and Orville Susong, former Health First COO Larry Garrison and Amateur Athletic Union Vice President Rusty Buchanan.

“The list of potential and deserving candidates for 2019 induction include athletes and coaches everybody knows – and some that may have been forgotten with the passing of time,” said Tom Palermo.

VENUE TO PAY TRIBUTE

Susong has been watching and covering sports on the Space Coast for more than 25 years and has interviewed many of the area’s outstanding athletes on the Friday Night Locker Room.

“It’s amazing how many outstanding athletes have come from Brevard County,” said Susong.

Susong and Wilson were inducted into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame in 2015 and have been broadcasting youth and high school sports for more than 20 years.

“We receive nominations for athletes that competed 30, 40, or even 50 years ago – it’s satisfying to be able to recognize these individuals who have been forgotten but made an indelible mark on sports on the Space Coast,” said Malone.

Avid sports fan, Dr. Jim Palermo, said, “I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to live and work in Brevard County for more than 36 years, during which time I’ve had the pleasure of watching and following so many superlative athletes ascend through local junior and school sports programs to the college level, and some into the pros.”

2020 HALL OF FAME INDUCTION

The 2020 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Induction Banquet and Sports Awards is set May 8 and will be held at the Cocoa Beach County Club,

“The festivities include a meet and greet with the area’s sports royalty, dinner and the induction proceeding which includes compelling video tributes of each of the inductees,” said Malone.

FOR INFORMATION about the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame, and to submit a nomination, call 321-615-8111 or e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE INDUCTEES

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