INDIANAPOLIS – Several teams are closing in on the first playoff bids as new Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Player of the Week honors were announced Tuesday morning.
 
After hosting last year’s conference tournament a year ago, Ohio Valley has the same aspirations with 25 points in the standings and an 8-0-1 record in league play.
 
The Fighting Scots emerged on top of a championship rematch vs. Ohio Dominican in a game that was originally scheduled on Thursday last week but postponed until Monday afternoon.
 
Eight teams will comprise the conference championship field and Trevecca, Walsh and Findlay, each have 20 or more points. Findlay entered the previous week in first place but lost just its second conference game in an overtime finish against Davis & Elkins.
 
D&E won both contests in overtime fashion last week and the Senators now find themselves locked into a fifth-place tie with Ohio Dominican.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
Fernanda Araya
Ohio Valley
Forward
Sophomore
Santiago, Chile (University Andres Bello)
 
In short order, Araya has established herself as a devastating playmaker while putting up bunches of points for a surging Ohio Valley offensive unit.
 
In four less games than her teammates (and most of the league), Araya has put up league-leading numbers in points, points per game and goals per game. She is also tied for the league lead in goals with 10 (Madisyn Hunt – Kentucky Wesleyan).
 
Her latest body of work included seven points in two OVU wins against Cedarville and Ohio Dominican, two upper echelon programs planted in the top half of the standings.
 
Araya scored three goals and recorded an assist combined in both games. Both goals scored turned out to be the game winners in OVU’s eighth and ninth wins of the fall.
 
Against Cedarville on the road, she scored early into the second half to split a 1-1 tie against the Yellow Jackets. Araya helped OVU get on the board for the equalizing goal by assisting Mileidys Saenz about four minutes prior.
 
Araya made more plays on Monday, scoring less than three minutes into regulation against Ohio Dominican. She later scored again in the first half, her 10th goal of the season, in the 29th minute.
 
This is her second conference weekly award for offensive honors in the current season.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Delayna Holman
Trevecca
Goalkeeper
Freshman
Shepherdsville, KY (North Bullitt HS)
 
In a stat line that mirrors this week’s men’s defensive player of the week Carter Selvius of Cedarville, Holman was an integral part of a pair of TNU shutouts.
 
Holman logged 200 minutes and helped the Trojans add four points to their conference total, an impressive win against Walsh and a double-overtime draw against Malone.
 
Holman made 10 combined saves, four against Walsh and six stops vs. Malone.
 
Holman was the lone keeper in the conference for the past week of competition to be unscored upon.
 
Trevecca’s defense has recorded five shutouts in the season to date.