INDIANAPOLIS – All 12 competing teams in the league kicked off the new season as Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Soccer Players of the Week were unveiled for the first time.
 
Five teams started the year with a perfect debut, including Ohio Dominican earning a pair of regional victories against Great Lakes Valley Conference opponents.
 
Also starting out 1-0 was Alderson Broaddus, Findlay, Lake Erie and Malone. Preseason coaches poll favorite Walsh split and Trevecca Nazarene and Cedarville each played top 10 United Soccer opponents.
 
Non-conference action continues for the remainder of this week before the league schedule has a busy slate on Saturday, Sept. 21, with five games on the docket.
 
Women’s Offensive Player of the Week
Iris Jimenez
Alderson Broaddus
Forward
Freshman
Orlando, FL (Cypress Creek HS)
 
Jimenez made her season and collegiate debut felt with a hat trick in Alderson Broaddus’ 5-1 victory over Wheeling in the Battlers season opener.
 
Jimenez, a newcomer from Florida, made her arrival known on Sunday as she contributed 6 points for the Battlers. All three of her goals came after the 77-minute mark in regulation.
 
The Battlers led 2-1 before Jimenez was able to strike for her first goal in the second half and the next two goals put the game out of reach for the Cardinals.
 
This is AB’s first season-opening win since 2009 and they have some time off before hosting Salem University on September 18, where it will look to start the season 2-0 under second-year head coach Jaron Hulme.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Cecilia Kuntz 
Ohio Dominican
Goalkeeper
Freshman
Berlin, Germany (Dathe)
 
With some big cleats to fill following the success of all-conference stopper Marissa Wierzbicki, Kuntz, a freshman for Ohio Dominican, had 8 saves and 1 clean sheet as the Panthers went 2-0 over the weekend. 
 
Kuntz is from Berlin, Germany, and earned the starting keeper position in camp as a freshman for the Panthers. 
 
Kuntz’s clean sheet came against McKendree, a perennial national qualifier, as she only had to make one save. But against Illinois Springfield it was a different story as Kuntz recorded six stops in the Panthers’ 2-1 victory. 
 
Next up for the Panthers is their first home game of the season as they welcome Northwood (MI) to town on Thursday, September 12.