INDIANAPOLIS - With the fourth week of the regular season in the books, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference released the Women's Soccer Players of the Week on Monday afternoon.
With Findlay downing Ohio Dominican and sealing a dramatic overtime win against Cedarville this week, Findlay now headlines the standings with 17 points and a 5-0-2 record in the Great Midwest.
The transformation for the Oilers continued under first-year head coach Jimmy Walker with the program going from non-postseason qualifier in 2017 to potential playoff host in the current year.
UF has passed all of its tests so far with flying colors with an unbeaten record and a pair of draws.
Cedarville is close behind Findlay in second with 15 points and three teams are tied for third place. Trevecca, Ohio Dominican, and Walsh all have 13 points while Ohio Valley rounds out the current top-six teams.
For the upcoming week, Trevecca travels to Columbus on Thursday to face off with Ohio Dominican. The Trojans will then head back to Nashville and host Ohio Valley on Saturday, and Ohio Dominican will host Cedarville. Walsh also has the chance to gain ground in the standings as it matches up against first-place Findlay on Saturday.
Offensive Player of the Week
Fernanda Araya
Ohio Valley
Forward
Sophomore
Santiago, Chile (University Andres Bello)
After tallying five goals this week and taking 23 shots, Araya jumped towards the top of many Great Midwest statistical categories despite only playing in five games this season.
In the Fighting Scots 5-0 victory over Salem on Tuesday, Araya tallied the second goal of the game, with a chip over the goalie's head. Araya took three other shots during her 79 minutes of play.
On Thursday, Araya netted two back-to-back goals just 39 seconds apart. These goals extended the Fighting Scots lead to 4-0 over Lake Erie. During 71 minutes of play, Araya took a total of 11 shots, seven of which were on-frame.
Araya scored both of Ohio Valley's goals on Saturday against Ursuline, but the match resulted in a 2-2 draw. Araya opened the scoring in the 41st minute, and added the second goal in the 6th minute to give the Fighting Scots the 2-1 lead.
Araya's performance this week puts her in the lead for goals (6), goals per game (1.2), and shots per game (7.20) in the league. She is averaging 2.40 points per game.
Defensive Player of the Week
Anna Money
Findlay
Goalkeeper
Junior
Dayton, OH (Chaminade-Julienne)
Money spent the entire week in net for Findlay, allowing only one goal to give the Oilers a first-place foothold in the conference standings.
The Oilers outscored Ohio Dominican on Thursday 2-1 as the entire Findlay defensive unit did its part and allowed the Panthers to only take three shots on goal.
Money posted her fifth shutout of the season in the 1-0 overtime victory on Saturday against Cedarville. Money saved all three shots she faced against the Yellow Jackets, a program that was in first place just a week ago.
So far this season, Money has put up five shutouts which is good for second amongst goalies in the G-MAC and has allowed only three goals for a 0.35 goals against average. Her GAA is ranked third in the league.