MAC Announces Women's Soccer Player of the Week
Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Erin McKinney, Akron
Goalkeeper, Freshman
Freshman goalkeeper Erin McKinney turned in a spectacular weekend against the current top team in the MAC, Bowling Green, and the reigning MAC tournament champion, Toledo. The freshman recorded back-to-back clean sheets against the Falcons and Rockets en route to a 2-0-0 weekend. It was the first time in her young career recording consecutive shutouts. McKinney now has a MAC leading 87 saves on the year. Against Bowling Green, McKinney tied a season-best 10 saves against a potent Bowling Green offense. McKinney held the Falcons scoreless despite their offense averaging 2.07 goals per game entering the match. In the final home contest of 2018 for the Zips, McKinney again stepped up big for Akron by making three saves en route to the shutout victory. "
Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Vital Kats, Midfield
Sophomore, Northview Heights Secondary
Kent State sophomore midfielder Vital Kats poured in a six-point performance on Sunday against Northern Illinois, with two goals and two assists, in the Golden Flashes 6-0 victory. She came up just short of the program record for most points in a match and is now tied for second in school history. The Toronto, Ontario native is tied for eighth in school history with 23 points this season. Kats scored her first goal in the 35th minute while sliding to beat the keeper for her sixth goal of the year. Her second goal of the match came 20 minutes later when she received a pass at point blank range and converted. She also had assists on two other Kent State goals in the 30th and 78th minutes. Kent State's six goals against the Huskies are tied for second most in a single match in program history.
Other Nominees
Paige Culver, Defender
Senior, Oakville, Ontario (St. Thomas Aquinas)
Kent State senior defender Paige Culver scored a goal and aided Kent State to its fifth shutout of the season this weekend. A Third Team All-American last season, Culver and the Golden Flashes defense held Northern Illinois to only four shots in a 6-0 victory. Culver chipped in offensively as well, with her second goal of the season off a free kick right in front of the net. Kent State recorded its fourth shutout against Mid-American Conference competition this season.
Tristin Stuteville, Ball State
Goalkeeper, Senior , Kansas City, Mo. (Platte County)
Tristin Stuteville continues to lead what has been a dominant Ball State defense. Through the current six-game winning streak the Cardinals are on, the senior has tallied four clean sheets, and four in the last five matches. Stuteville went 2-0 in goal this week in wins over Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan. She tallied three saves against the Chippewas, and three saves with a clean sheet against the Eagles. The Kansas City native now has seven shutouts on the year and needs just three more to become the all-time leader in that category at Ball State. She has been a key part in the Cardinals climbing the MAC standings to number two, and anchored the defense that owns the longest winning streak in the conference to date.
Maria Collica, Ohio
Defender, Grad, Solon, Ohio (Solon)
Graduate transfer Maria Collica helped lead the Bobcat defense on the pitch this past weekend. Collica's performance helped Ohio to a 2-0 weekend, two shutouts and secure a top-four seed in this year's 2018 MAC Tournament. The wins also helped Ohio secure the Bobcats' first non-losing season and winning MAC record since 2009.
Overall on the weekend, Collica recorded four shots with two on goal and three assists. On Oct. 18 against NIU, Collica was a force. In Ohio's 4-0 win, Collica assisted on three of those goals, tying an Ohio record for assists in a single game. In that game, she also recorded three shots, with two of them on goal in 38 minutes of work, while helping secure the shutout. Then On Oct. 21 against Western Michigan, Collica helped lead the defense that shut out the Broncos, 2-0.
In that game, Collica recorded one shot, however she play all 90 minutes on the pitch.
Hannah Kahn, Western Michigan
Midfielder, JuniorMount Pleasant, Mich. (Mount Pleasant)
Kahn was instrumental in WMU's 4-3 win at Kent State on Thursday. The junior midfielder assisted on WMU's first goal that tied the game up at 1-1. She put the Broncos up 3-1 with the team's third goal and her fifth of the season and then assisted on the game-winning goal late in the first half.
Kahn played 178 total minutes in the two games as she helped WMU stay in the top four of the MAC standings for a chance at home field advantage in the NCHC quarterfinals.
Madison Costner, Central Michigan
Forward, Senior, Dublin, Ohio (Dublin Jerome)
Senior forward Madison Costner, playing for the final time at home in the maroon and gold, came through in the clutch for Central Michigan on Sunday, boosting the Chippewas' hopes for securing a spot in the upcoming conference tournament. Costner broke a 0-0 tie with Miami in the 68th minute, after taking a pass from the corner from teammate Lexi Pelafas, unleashed a long service from 25 yards out from the near wing to the far post that dropped in over the outstretched hands of the Redhawks goalkeeper. Her team-leading second game winner was Costner's sixth goal, giving her 14 points on the season, both of which rank second on the team.
?Abby Willerer, Central Michigan
Defender, Redshirt Freshman
Redshirt freshman defender Abby Willerer played a key role on both ends of the field in Central Michigan's 2-0 victory over Miami (Ohio) on Sunday. On defense, Willerer headlined a defensive effort that limited the Redhawks to zero first half shots and just one shot on goal for the game. On offense, Willerer made her mark by scoring her first career goal in dramatic fashion. Taking a free kick from directly on the far sideline, she lofted a long, arcing shot over the head of the Miami goalkeeper and into the net far post. Making the goal even more notable, Willerer, a natural left-footed player, connected on the long-distance, precise goal using her off right foot.
Alivia Milesky, Ohio
Forward, Junior, Plain City, Ohio (Jonathan Alder)
Junior forward Alivia Milesky led the Bobcats offensively this past weekend, helping Ohio go 2-0, record two shutouts and help secure a top-four seed in this year's MAC Tournament. The wins also helped Ohio secure a nonlosing and a winning conference mark for the first time since 2009.
Overall, Milesky scored two goals while recording 11 shots with five on goal. She recorded four points, a .180 shot percentage and a .450 shot on goal percentage. On Oct. 18 against NIU, Milesky was a force, registered seven shots with three on goal and two goals. Milesky's first goal came in the 45th minute, with Ohio leading 1-0. Abby Townsend would cross the ball to Milesky in the opening seconds of the second half, who would push it past the diving keeper. Then, left than four minutes later, Maria Collica would collect an NIU turnover and pass it up the right side to Milesky who would then fire to the upper corner past the keeper, giving Ohio the 3-0 lead at the time and putting the game away for Ohio. The Bobcats would go on to win 4-0.
On Oct. 21 in Ohio's 2-0 win against WMU, Milesky was a force again, registering four shots with two on goal in 90 minutes of work on the pitch. "
Kristin Nason, Eastern Michigan
Midfielder/Forward, Redshirt junior Brooklin, Ontario (Donald A. Wilson)
Redshirt junior Kristin Nason once again led the Eastern Michigan offense, Oct. 18-21, as EMU posted a 1-1-0 record. Nason scored an assist and added a goal in Eastern's 3-nil win over Miami, Oct. 18. Her three-point effort pushed her career total to 38 points, while she has now matched her career-high with seven goals this season.
Shea O'Brien, Akron
Midfield, Senior, Cuyahoga Falls,
Senior captain Shea O'Brien scored the biggest goal of her career this past week against the top team in the MAC, Bowling Green. In the 88th minute of a scoreless match between the Zips and Falcons, O'Brien received a pass about 25 yards out, set her feet, and ripped a shot over the head of the BG keeper for the eventual game-winning tally. The win helped Akron take down the Falcons, 1-0, who entered the contest unbeaten in MAC play.
Against Toledo, O'Brien attempted an identical shot against the Rockets that was barely saved by a jumping keeper on the left side of the net.
In total, O'Brien tallied one goal, two points, four shots, and two shots on goal on the weekend. "
Tatiana Mason, Ball State
Midfielder , Freshman, Ann Arbor, Mich. (Skyline)
Tatiana Mason continued her stellar freshman campaign last week with a game-winning goal against Central Michigan in overtime. Mason sent a ball in from 30 yards out that went far post to beat the keeper and secure the victory. The freshman also tallied her third assist of the year on the opening goal of the match to freshman teammate Jenna Dombrowski. The Ann Arbor native leads Ball State in points, goals and assists this season with 13, five and three. For the week, Mason tallied one goal and one assist for three points while firing six shots with three on goal. The Skyline High School product has been an offensive catalyst for BSU all season, but especially through the current six-game winning streak the Cardinals find themselves on, that has boosted them into second place in the MAC as the final match of the regular season approaches.
Erica Hubert, Bowling Green
Forward, Senior, Welland, Ontario, Canada (E.L. Crossley)
Bowling Green senior forward Erica Hubert exploded for eight points as the Falcons posted a 5-0 win at Buffalo to clinch the MAC regular-season championship. Hubert was involved in the scoring of every goal, with a hat trick and the primary assist on each of BG’s other two goals. The hat trick was the second of her career. Her total of eight points was a career best, and is tied for the second-highest single-game output in school history. She now has 12 goals this season, tying her total from last season, and also tying her for second in BG history on that list as well. She had four shots in the UB match, putting all four attempts on goal and scoring on three of the four attempts. In Thursday’s match at Akron, Hubert had season-high totals of nine shot attempts and five shots on goal. She now has 33 points this season, on the 12 goals and nine assists, and she has 39 goals and 92 points in her BGSU career. The 33 points ranks her second on the school single-season list, and she is also second in BG history in career goals and points. Hubert has eight goals, seven assists and 23 points in the 10 MAC games, and leads the league in all three categories. The Falcons are 9-1-0 in the MAC, and BGSU has clinched the regular-season championship and the number-one seed for the MAC Tournament.
