EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ - With only one match played in the UWS West Conference this Memorial Day weekend, it could be easy for a team to snag all the honors for themselves. Well, it wasn’t easy for the Houston Aces this past Saturday, as not only did they have to travel to face a strong Real Salt Lake Women side in front of a big crowd in their opponent’s home opener, Houston would also have to rebound from a disappointing loss to start their season.

Rebound they did, as the Aces (1-1) weathered a determined Real Women (0-1) attack and took advantage of their best scoring chance in the second half for the important 1-0 road win. For their efforts in their team’s victory, we would like to announce that Houston forward Paige Hayward has been named the UWS West Offensive Player of the Week while her goalkeeper Courtney Seelhorst is the Defensive Player of the Week.

Its a long trip from Earlwood, Australia to Houston, Texas, but Hayward has made the most of it as the Texas Southern forward had an opportunity to score the game-winning goal and went headlong after it. A well-placed cross by Aces defender Shauna Peare in the 71st minute of play found the head of Hayward and then the back of the net past Real goalkeeper Rebecca Ritchie. Paige will have another chance to score a game-winner against the Real Salt Lake Women this weekend, as Houston hosts them at Houston Sports Park on Saturday in the rubber match of the season series.

Seelhorst overcame a sleepless night and a nightmare of a road trip out to the Salt Lake City-area to join her team for their match vs. the Real Women and didn’t show any ill effects. The former Baylor Bear made several big saves in the first half to stave off the RSLW attack and kept the Aces in the game. Her dominant display in net helped set up Hayward’s second half heroics and the big conference victory. Courtney is no stranger to coming up big for her team, as she started all 22 matches in her senior season at Baylor, and led them on a historic run in the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

About United Women’s Soccer (UWS): UWS is a national women’s soccer league sanctioned by U.S. Soccer through the United States Adult Soccer Association (USASA). UWS is a professionally operated league created for teams that meet high minimum standards. The season runs from May until the end of July, culminating in a National Championship match. The UWS player pool is comprised of college players, aspiring & former professionals and international stars. You can follow UWS on social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

UWS is managed by EDP, a leading soccer management company that runs a number of leagues and tournaments.  In addition to UWS, EDP operates youth leagues that includes an NPL league, the EDP Super Club program, the EDP Premier League and the EDP Championship League. EDP also runs EDP Futures programs for U-7’s to U-12’s and it conducts more than 20 youth tournaments, including tournaments within its EDP Cup Series and EDP Showcase Series.

Media can contact UWS Director of Communications Jorma Kansanen by e-mail at Press@UWSSoccer.com. You can visit the league’s official website at UWSSoccer.com. Interested team applicants can contact League Commissioner Joe Ferrara by e-mail at Joe@UWSSoccer.com.