LA PLUME — The Keystone College women’s soccer team earned the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Teams Ethics and Sportsmanship award for the 2015 season.

The Giants, who earned the Gold Award this fall, were recognized for their sportsmanship for the third time in program history, joining the 2011 and 2013 squads that claimed the Silver Award.

Keystone was one of just 23 teams to earn either Platinum or Gold Team Ethics Awards and was also one of just two Colonial States Athletic Conference programs to win the award as local conference foe Marywood University earned the Silver Award.

Eight intercollegiate teams received the NSCAA’s Platinum Team Ethics Award for completing the entire 2015 season without receiving either a yellow or red card.

In all, 83 teams received either the Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze version of the College Team Ethics and Sportsmanship Award, which recognizes teams that exhibit fair play, sporting behavior and adherence to the laws of the game, as reflected by the number of yellow caution cards or red ejection cards they are shown by referees throughout the season based on the number of cards accumulated divided by the number of games played (i.e., 5 cards divided by 20 games played is 0.25 or 25 percent, which qualifies for a Silver Award).

Keystone was one of 15 teams to receive the Gold Award, which is given to teams with a percentage of cards ranging from 1-10 percent.

A total of 43 teams claimed the Silver Award, which is given to teams that accumulate a percentage of cards ranging from 11-30 percent, while the Bronze Award went to 17 teams, which is presented to teams that accumulate a percentage of cards ranging from 31-50 percent.

Keystone posted a 7-9-1 overall record in 2015 and earned their first-ever CSAC playoff berth with a 7-4 mark in conference play.

For Abington Journal

Information provided by the Keystone College Athletic Department.