Kent State Sweeps Women's Soccer Weekly Awards
MAC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Faith O'Neill, Kent State
Goalkeeper, R. Fr, Coquitlam, British Columbia (Dr. Charles Best Secondary)
Kent State redshirt freshman goalkeeper Faith O'Neill only allowed one goal and registered her first career shutout while playing 200 minutes against Pitt and Cleveland State. On the road in the Steel City, O'Neill kept the Panthers attack at bay and made six saves while only allowing one goal in the double overtime contest that ended in a draw. On Sunday, O'Neill recorded the first shutout of her career, as Kent State blanked the Vikings 2-0. The Coquitlam, British Columbia native made five saves to keep the clean sheet.
MAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
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Khyla Porter, Kent State
Forward, Freshman, Cincinnati, Ohio (Mount Notre Dame)
Kent State freshman forward Khyla Porter recorded two goals on Sunday in a 2-0 win at Cleveland State to score the first points of her collegiate career as the Flashes went undefeated on the weekend. Porter scored her first collegiate goal in the 27th minute when she snuck a shot from 10 yards out inside the post. Late in the first period, Porter scored again in the 44th minute off a deflected free kick that she collected and beat the Cleveland State keeper and lofted a shot from 40 yards out. The native from Cincinnati earned Kent State a corner kick during Friday's match at Pitt in which Kent State would score to tie the match and draw with the Panthers.
Other Defensive Nominees
Michelle Rockey, Ohio
D, Gr., Woodland Hills, Calif. (Oregon)
Graduate transfer Michelle Rockey helped lead the Bobcats on defense this past week. Overall, Rockey played a total of 195 minutes over the course of the weekend, and helped lead the Bobcats tot their second shutout of the season. On Aug. 24 against Lipscomb, Rockey anchored a defense that helped the high-scoring Bison scoreless through 110 minutes of play on the pitch. Also on Aug. 24, Rockey registered a shot as well in the 0-0 double overtime draw. Rockey was back on the pitch on Sunday, Aug. 26 against host Vanderbilt, where she helped hold the Commodores to two goals. At the end of the Music City Invitational, Rockey was named to the All-Tournament Team.
Victoria McCartney, Western Michigan
outside back, junior, Toronto, Ontario (Earl Haig Secondary)
McCartney helped WMU stay undefeated at home this season and helped the team earn its second shutout of the season. In the 2-1 win over Purdue Fort Wayne she helped hold the Mastodons to just four total shots. In the 2-0 win against the Raiders she helped the Broncos keep their second clean sheet of the season. She also figured into the attack in both games, helping provide support on the flanks. Against the Raiders she also had one shot on goal.
Madison Perrin, Toledo
Goalkeeper, Sophomore, Pleasant Lake, Mich.
Sophomore goalkeeper Madison Perrin stood tall in net for Toledo this weekend. The Pleasant Lake, Mich. native recorded her first shutout of the season and sixth of her career in the Rockets’ 2-0 road victory over Valparaiso on Friday. Perrin recorded three saves through 90 minutes of action. Toledo also won 6-1 at UIC on Sunday. Perrin made one save and allowed the Flames’ lone goal through 70 minutes of action before being relieved by junior keeper Katie Wilson. With the wins, Perrin moves to 2-1-1 on the year and has a stat line of four goals allowed, 1.00 GAA and 15 saves with a .789 save percentage.
Tristin Stuteville, Ball State
Goalkeeper, Senior, Kansas City, MO. (Platte County)
Tristin Stuteville anchored the Ball State defense last week on her way to earning her first clean sheet of the season against Morehead State in a 1-0 win. The fifth-year senior faced five shots on goal throughout the match and saved every one of them, including some highlight saves that she had to really stretch out for. Overall, the Ball State captain saved eight shots for the week to run her season total up to 10 on the year. Stuteville has played every single minute in goal for the Cardinals thus far this season after splitting time with the MAC's NCAA Woman of the Year nominee, Alyssa Heintschel, a year ago.
Patricia Koutoulas, Miami University
Goalkeeper, Senior, Toronto
Returning Second-Team All-MAC goalkeeper Patricia Koutoulas stood tall to help Miami battle for a 1-1 tie at Western Kentucky on Sunday. In Miami's lone action of the week, Koutoulas held the RedHawks close throughout despite them getting outshot 26-5 on the afternoon. Western Kentucky placed nine of those shot attempts on goal, with Koutoulas coming up with eight saves in the contest. She has clocked every second in goal for the Red & White in their first three matches and has stopped 17 of 23 shots that have come her way thus far.
Morgan Abbitt, Bowling Green
Defender, Senior, Fort Collins, Colo. (Rocky Mountain)
Bowling Green senior defender Morgan Abbitt anchored a BG back line that completely shut down Oakland University's offense on Saturday, as the Falcons posted a 3-0 win in the lone match of the week. Abbitt played 84 minutes at a center-back spot, leading a BG defense that held the Golden Grizzlies to just one shot on goal and zero corner kicks in the match. Abbitt, in her fourth year as a starter for the Falcons, has played 289 of BGSU's 295 minutes -- the highest total among BGSU's field players this season to date -- and has spearheaded a BG defense that has allowed just two goals, for a team GAA of 0.61.
Gurjeena Jandu, Buffalo
Defender, Junior, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Junior center back Gurjeena Jandu had another strong opening week for the Bulls as she helped the Bulls go 1-1. Jandu helped the Bulls hold a very strong St. John's side to just one shot in the second half on Monday in the loss to the Red Storm. On Friday, Jandu made a huge impact for UB as she was able to net the game-winning goal for the Bulls in the 67th minute as she buried a free kick into the lower left corner of the net. Defensively, Jandu helped UB preserve their first clean sheet of the season as the Penguins were held without a dangerous scoring opportunity through 90 minutes. The game-winning marker for Jandu was the first of her UB career.
Other Offensive Nominees
Ashley Amato, University of Akron
Forward, Junior, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Akron’s Ashley Amato paced the Zips offense this past weekend against Charlotte and Wofford College during their first road trip of the season. In total, Amato garnered six shots with two shots on goal in 138 minutes of action. Amato helped lead Akron to their first win of the 2018 season by scoring the eventual game-winning goal in the 4th minute of play.
Alyssa Burke, Western Michigan
Midfielder, Senior, Davison, Mich. (Davison)
Burke helped the Broncos stay unbeaten at home after wins over Purdue Fort Wayne and Wright State. In the win against the Mastodons she had a team-high five shots in the game, landing three on goal. In Sunday's win over the Raiders she helped set up the game-winning goal and then added an insurance goal to give WMU a 2-0 lead. Burke's weekend pushed her goal total for the season to two, already surpassing her total from 2017.
Hannah Scafaria, Toledo
Forward, Senior, Kalamazoo, Mich.
Senior Hannah Scafaria (Kalamazoo, Mich.) was a major contributor to Toledo’s 6-1 stomping of Horizon League opponent UIC on Sunday. The senior scored a hat trick, with her first two goals coming in the opening 15 minutes of the match. Scafaria registered five shots that day, and four of them were on frame. The Rockets also took down Valparaiso on Friday, shutting out the Crusaders 2-0. Scafaria recorded one shot in the contest. Thanks to Scafaria’s contributions, Toledo moved to 2-1-1 on the year, with both wins coming on the road this weekend. Scafaria now leads UT with five goals and 10 points on the year.
Sabrina McNeill, Eastern Michigan
Midfield, Redshirt sophomore, Whitby, Ontario (Henry Street)
Redshirt sophomore Sabrina McNeill led the charge offensively for the Eastern Michigan University soccer team, Aug. 24-26. For the weekend, McNeill registered nine shots, putting four on target, while racking up three points on a goal and an assist. The Whitby, Ontario native recorded her first point of the season on an assist on EMU's game-winning goal against Detroit Mercy, Aug. 24. McNeill closed out the weekend with her first goal of the year in EMU's loss to Dayton, Aug. 26.
For the season, McNeill leads the Eagles in goals, assists, points, shots, and shots on goal.
Jenna Dombrowski, Ball State
Midfielder, Freshman, Bartlett, Ill. (Bartlett)
Jenna Dombrowski's header in overtime served as the golden goal that gave Ball State a 1-0 road win at Morehead State on Sunday afternoon. Dombrowski, a true freshman, helped lead an attack that piled up22 shots in the match. She herself took two of those shots and converted the chance in overtime to improve BSU's record to 2-1. The freshman midfielder made the start and logged 39 minutes. The Morehead State goalkeeper had saved 12 shots previous to Dombrowski breaking through to give the Cardinals the win. She also contributed 38 minutes in Ball State's loss to Eastern Kentucky. Dombrowski is now tied at the top of the leaderboard for points at Ball State this season.
Erica Hubert, Bowling Green
Forward, Senior, Welland, Ontario, Canada (E.L. Crossley)
Bowling Green senior forward Erica Hubert had three points in the Falcons' lone match of the week, a 3-0 win over Oakland on Saturday afternoon. With BGSU leading by a single goal in the second half, she assisted on a Nikki Cox goal, then capped the game's scoring, finding the upper half of the net on a turnaround blast from distance. The goal was the 28th of her BGSU career, moving into a tie for second place in program history. She now has 62 career points to rank fifth on that school career list.
Kaitlyn Walsh, Buffalo
Midfielder, Sophomore, Chenango Forks, NY
Sophomore Kaitlyn Walsh netted a pair of goals for the Bulls as they went 1-1 during their opening week of the 2018 season. Walsh notched the lone goal for the Bulls in their 3-1 loss at St. John's on Monday night and finished with two shots, both on goal. In the Bulls 3-0 victory at Youngstown State on Friday night, Walsh was a force for the Buffalo attacking group as she notched her second goal of the season while also recording three shots in the win. Walsh has notched goals in back-to-back games for the first time in her UB career while also already setting a career-high in goals with two.
