INDIANAPOLIS – With the regular season winding down, the new pairing of Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Players of the Week were announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Ohio Valley, Ohio Dominican and Cedarville, have all clinched playoff seeding in the Great Midwest Championship. OVU, now ranked No. 24 in the United Soccer Coaches Top-25 Poll, will also host one of the quarterfinals in Vienna, W.Va.
The first edition of the NCAA Midwest Region Rankings will also be released on Wednesday afternoon featuring the Great Midwest, Great Lakes Valley Conference and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional will come into play for the first time this season.
Great Midwest Offensive Player of the Week
Hannah Barney
Midfield
Senior
Mission Viejo, CA (Crean Lutheran HS)
Barney has established herself as one of the nation’s premier playmakers, ranking among NCAA DII’s best in the assists category.
Her strong week included two goals scored and three assists for a total of seven points as the Trojans enhanced their postseason hopes with wins against Davis & Elkins and Alderson Broaddus.
Barney ranks sixth in NCAA Division II in total assists with eight. She is tied for the league lead with Walsh’s Olivia Peters.
The senior pulled the Trojans even at 1-1 with a goal early in the second half against Davis & Elkins. It was her second goal of the season.
She padded a TNU lead to 3-1 with a goal in the 81st minute in the same game, her third score of the year. She also assisted a Courtney Dyer eventual game winner less than two minutes elapsed and fed Lauren Winters for a goal right before the end of regulation.
In a shutout against Alderson Broaddus, Barney also assisted Johnna Raby in the 80th minute to help add some insurance in TNU’s seventh win of the season.
Great Midwest Defensive Player of the Week
Bex Velloney
Defender
Cedarville
Sophomore
Chesapeake, VA (Greenbrier Christian Academy)
The Yellow Jackets are red hot as winners of five straight and riding back-to-back shutouts against Malone and Walsh.
Cedarville is one of three teams to officially clinch their place in the Great Midwest Championship with Ursuline, Lake Erie and first-place Ohio Valley, left to play in the regular season.
Velloney has been an instrumental part of the Cedarville defense, which has now pitched six shutouts on the season. She has played all possible 15 games and is tied for the team lead in minutes played with Hannah Whicker.
Velloney has only attempted five shots on the season, but has made her presence felt all over the field as Cedarville (9-5-1, 7-3-1 G-MAC) gears up for another championship run.