Johnson & Wales University Providence

She came to Johnson & Wales as an Access Program student, but her in-class and on-field maturity were far beyond her years. In 1999, 16-year-old newcomer Patrice Merendina made an immediate impact on Wildcat soccer, scoring 12 goals with a league-high 13 assists. In 2000, she stood among the national leaders in four scoring categories, helping JWU to a league title and its first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III women’s soccer tournament, with the team that recorded the nation’s longest unbeaten streak that season, 21 games. The 2000 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Year and the first Wildcat ever to be named to the NEWISA All-New England Team, she eventually became a four-time GNAC First Team selection. An accounting major from Hampton, Connecticut and a Dean’s List student, Merendina set impressive Wildcat career records with 67 goals and 168 points.