CHICAGO – Gatorade announced Tuesday that Dana Riker of Cape Elizabeth High School is its 2005-06 Maine Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year.

Riker, a senior, led the Capers to an improbable berth in the Class C semifinals after the team started 0-5.

A three-time All-Conference and two-time All-State selection, Riker scored 12 goals and had three assists, raising her four-year totals to 37 goals and 30 assists.

Rikers’ excellence extends to the classoom, where she maintains a 4.0 GPA, scored 2130 on the SAT, and is an officer in the National Honor Society.

She is a peer tutor, and belongs to Cape Life, an organization that promotes and sponsors chemical-free activties.

She is also a Natural Helper, a member of the youth ministry at her church, and is a youth soccer coach and official.