Morgan Andrews surprises California striker with Gatorade national soccer award

At least when it comes to the Gatorade National Soccer Player of the Year Award.

The Seattle Reign midfielder surprised JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) junior Isabella "Izzy" D'Aquila with the 2017-18 national honor Thursday at the Marriott Redmond Town Center during a fake interview for this weekend's ECNL national youth club tournament in the Seattle region.

It was a similar surprise Andrews, now 23, received from two of her idols, Ali Krieger and Heather O'Reilly, when she received the prestigious award as a high school player back-to-back years, in 2012-13.

Andrews is the only soccer player to win twice since the inception of the award in 1988 when two-time Olympic and Olympic gold medalist Aly Wagner won. The 16-year-old D'Aquila now has a chance to win the Gatorade national honor twice.

"Giving the award to Izzy was fantastic," said Andrews, who led USC to a NCAA College Cup title in 2016. "To see her reaction and to pull off the surprise was amazing. But I'm not going to lie, winning the award itself was truly something I'll never forget." D'Aquila, a 5-foot-7 striker, finished off her second straight unforgettable season, leading JSerra to a second straight CIF Southern Section Division 1 title. She scored 39 goals and added 15 assists for the Lions (24-2-3), who finished ranked fourth nationally by MaxPreps.

The two-time Southern Section D1 Player of the Year and Under-17 women's national team member is committed to Santa Clara University.

She thought she was being interviewed by Andrews, who earned a broadcast journalism degree from USC in 2017, for her Southern California Blues club team's quest for a national Elite Clubs National League title.

Instead, Andrews switched up the line of questioning and informed her she wasn't only the Gatorade California Player of the Year, but the national winner.

"I tried to correct her, but then when she pulled out the national trophy, I was just shocked," D'Aquila said. "To receive the award, especially from a player like Morgan, is overwhelming. I'm honored beyond belief.

"I looked at all the names on the list who won the award, including last year's winner Kennedy (Wesley), who I played with, and to be put in with such company is amazing. It really helps to show that all the time and effort I've put in the last 11 years has paid off."

D'Aquila, who has maintained a weighted 4.0 grade point average, credited her family and JSerra teammates for winning the award. "They're the ones who set me up and put me in the position to be successful," she said. "I really share the award with them."