Edison, N.J. - Two MAAC student-athletes are among the 30 NCAA® women's soccer student-athletes who were selected as candidates for the 2012 Senior CLASS Award® in collegiate soccer.

The MAAC is represented in this year's class by Nichole Schiro of Loyola University Maryland and Abi Cottam of Rider University.

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. The complete list of candidates follows this release.

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 2012 candidate class includes 14 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Americans from last season. More than half of the 60 have maintained a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better. Seven of the candidates were recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America as 2011 Capital One Academic All-Americans. Five student-athletes participated in the 2011 NCAA Men's or Women's College Cups®. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2012 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup championships. The Women's College Cup will take place November 30 and December 2 in San Diego, while the Men's College Cup will take place December 7 and 9 in Hoover, Ala.

Each of the 30 candidate classes will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans, who will select one male candidate and one female candidate who best exemplify excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition.