Hall-of-fame award for Sonya Maher

FORMER Clare footballer and Banner Ladies’ Club chairperson Sonya Maher has become the first female student athlete to be inducted into the Slippery Rock University (SRU) Hall of Fame in Pennsylvania, USA.

Induction ceremonies for the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012 were held last Saturday in the Robert M Smith Student Centre Ballroom. The ceremony coincided with a Slippery Rock home football game against Kutztown University.

Sonya Maher is the second top scorer in Slippery Rock University women’s soccer history. She was included in a group of seven people inducted into the SRU Athletic Hall of Fame.

As recently as Sunday, September 16, Sonya came on as a substitute in the Banner Ladies’ county final win over Cooraclare to help the club win their fourth senior championship since 2008.

Maher scored 40 goals and had 23 assists during her four-year Rock career and was the Green and White’s all-time leading scorer at the time of her graduation in 1999. She was SRU’s first women’s soccer All-American when she earned third-team National Soccer Coaches Association of America honours in 1999.

Sonya, who is from Ennis but is now studying in London, earned first-team NSCAA all-region and All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference honours during her career and was the 1996 PSAC Rookie of the Year.
Maher also excelled at international level as a member of the Irish national team and led the Lifford Ladies’ Soccer Club, Denham United Ladies’ Soccer Club and the Banner Ladies’ Gaelic Football Club to several league and cup successes.

With the addition of the class of 2012, the hall’s 29th induction class, a total of 189 former Slippery Rock student athletes, coaches and supporters have been inducted.