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College Update: McKeown Scores Two Honors

10/16/2019, 4:00pm EDT
By UWS PR

Soderstrom nets two awards as well; Dewey is Senior CLASS Award® finalist


Tara McKeown (credit USC Athletics)

METUCHEN, NJ - A pair of United Women's Soccer (UWS) alumnae were honored twice for their outstanding performances in Week VIII action by their respective conferences and a national publication. University of Southern California forward/midfielder Tara McKeown (Santa Clarita Blue Heat) was not only named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week but also received Player of the Week honors by Top Drawer Soccer. The 2019 All-UWS selection helped No. 4 nationally-ranked USC extend its four-game win streak with the game winning goals in 2-1 victories over the University of Utah and University of Colorado. McKeown scored twice against the Utes and setup the first goal against the Buffaloes by fellow Blue Heat alum Penelope Hocking before scoring the winner.

The BIG EAST selected Butler University midfielder/forward Katie Soderstrom (Indiana Union) as their Offensive Player of the Week as she notched the game winning goals in 1-0 conference wins over Creighton University and St. John's University. Soderstrom scored the golden goal against the Bluejays while tallying the eventual winner against the Red Storm in the 78th minute. On top of her conference accolade, she was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week alongside McKeown. University of Virginia defender Zoe Morse (Lansing United) also received TDS TOTW honors as she played every minute in two road shutouts at North Carolina State University and Florida State University. Hocking and Stanford University forward Catarina Macario (LA Galaxy OC) were on the TDS Honorable Mention list.


Katie Soderstrom (credit Butler Athletics)

Ten women's soccer student-athletes who excel both on and off the field were selected as finalists today for the 2019 Senior CLASS Award® this past week. Xavier University midfielder/forward Samantha Dewey (Indiana Union) was one of the finalists chosen by a selection committee from a list of 30 candidates. Dewey was the 2019 Midwest Conference Player of the Year and All-UWS selection for Indiana this past summer, who went on to capture the Midwest title and the berth into the UWS Championship. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. Online voting has already begun and to help select the winner, fans are encouraged to go to the Senior CLASS Award website through November 18, 2019.

In the American Athletic Conference, another former Indiana Union star was honored as the Defensive Player of the Week. Defender Stasia Mallin anchored a University of Memphis backline that only allowed four shots on goal in two matches and also provided two assists. University of Connecticut goalkeeper Randi Palacios (Connecticut Fusion) made the AAC Weekly Honor Roll via 11 saves in a pair of wins over the University of Houston and Southern Methodist University last week. Marist College defender Nicole Sasso (New Jersey Copa FC) switched sides of the pitch and was honored as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Sasso scored three goals in two Marist wins this past week over Niagara University and Siena College. It was the first time in her Red Foxes tenure that the junior captain scored in consecutive matches.


Nicole Sasso (credit Marist Athletics)

In the Southwestern Athletic Conference, Alabama A&M defender Iris Torres (HAR FC) recorded a total of six points but was named the Defensive Player of the Week. Torres helped the Lady Bulldogs capture victories over Mississippi Valley State University and Alcorn State University. Brown University defender Sydney Cummings (New Jersey Copa FC) was selected to the Ivy League Honor Roll. Central Michigan University goalkeeper Zoie Reed (Lansing United) continues to get recognized by the Mid-American Conference as she was honored as a "Top Performer" alongside University of Miami (Ohio) forward Kristina DeMarco (Michigan Legends). Central Connecticut State University midfielder Roma McLaughlin (New England Mutiny) was named a "Prime Performer" by the Northeast Conference.

Tag(s): News |   New England Mutiny  New Jersey Copa FC  Indiana Union  Michigan Legends  Santa Clarita Blue Heat