Szeghalmi added another piece of hardware to her collection earlier this week, when she was awarded the prestigious OCAA Athlete of the Year Award. She received the award at the athletic complex at Durham College in front of her fellow teammates, family and college staff.

She has already won -- hold your breath -- the CCAA Women's Soccer Player of the Year, CCAA Team National bronze medal, CCAA Championship Tournament All-Star, CCAA Academic All-Canadian, OCAA Women's Soccer Player of the Year, OCAA Team Provincial gold medal, OCAA Provincial Championship MVP, OCAA League Top Scorer, OCAA League All-Star, OCAA East Region Top Scorer, OCAA All-Academic Team, DC Female Athlete of the Year, DC Women's Soccer MVP and the Bert Dejeet Memorial Scholastic Award recipient.

Quite the accomplishment for one season.

"It's absolutely amazing and such an honour," the Oshawa native said of the most recent accolades. "It's the greatest award that I have ever received and I wouldn't have been able to do it without my team and coaching staff."

Her teammates and coaches were the most important pieces of the puzzle in Szeghalmi's season. She says that she has never been a part of such an amazing team.

"The most gratifying award this season was when we won the Durham College Team of the Year Award," she explained. "I couldn't have had any of the individual accomplishments without the team. They were the foundation for everything."

It wasn't always so easy for Szeghalmi. While playing at Georgia Southern University on a soccer scholarship, she injured her knee, which needed a year of recovery time. Not all was lost, though. In that year, she rediscovered her love for soccer and that she needed it back in her life.

"It was the hardest year that I have ever had because I was unable to play soccer, which was frustrating," recalled Szeghalmi. "It made me realize what I was missing."

After being lured to play again for her final two years of eligibility, this time in her hometown, she is now about to graduate from the paramedics program at Durham College. She hopes to land a job in the Durham Region and aspires to continue playing soccer and coach younger players.

"The appealing thing about being a paramedic is that you can go to work every day and have no idea what is going to happen," said the Durham soccer star.

Szeghalmi will always cherish the memories she had of playing with the Lords.

"It was the best group of girls that I have ever played with and the best coaches," she said. "I already miss it so much."

Athletic Director Ken Babcock realizes that players come and go, but some like Szeghalmi, are irreplaceable.

"Players like Katie come along once every 20 years," he said. "She's one of the special ones. You can't replace her but you can have two or three other players pick up the slack and try to fill her shoes."

Babcock went on to explain that because of the calibre and reputation of the programs, recruiting has gone really well, not to mention the attention that Szeghalmi's recent award has brought to the college.

"It brings national recognition and honour to the school," said Babcock. "Her accomplishments along with how well the team performed, drew a lot of attention, not just in Ontario but across the country, which is a big deal."