Seattle University women’s soccer sophomore Stephanie Verdoia (Salt Lake City, Utah) has been named the Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 1-7. This is the third WAC Offensive Player of the Week for Seattle U this season.
“Stephanie is such a tremendously hardworking player and is so committed to improving herself,” said head coach Julie Woodward. “She just keeps getting better and better. It’s fun to see the work rate that she possesses, as she is already such a talented athlete. She really had an exceptional game and looked so explosive and composed. It’s nice to see her playing so great at such an important part of our season.”
Verdoia recorded a hat trick in the team’s 5-1 win over Idaho in their conference home opener on Sunday, Oct. 7. She scored the first goal of the game, in the 15th minute, before adding two more goals after halftime in the 47th and 56th minutes.
“Every goal I scored was because my teammates were there supporting me and putting me in front of the goal,” said Verdoia.
So far this season, Verdoia leads the team with seven goals, 15 points, and 33 shots, also starting all 13 games.
Utah State’s Natalie Norris and Ashlyn Mulford were named Defensive Player and Goalkeeper of the Week, respectively. The Aggies defeated UTSA, 3-0, and Texas State, 4-0, over the weekend.
After two weekends of conference play, Seattle U ranks second in conference standings with a 7-5-1 overall record and a 2-0-1 WAC record. Utah State, the Redhawks’ next opponent, tops the conference standings.
SU continues their homestand on Friday, Oct. 12, hosting Utah State at 1 p.m. before traveling to face San Jose State on Sunday, Oct. 14 at 2:30 p.m.
The other nominees for each position are as follows:
Offensive Nominees: Megan Molina (San Jose State), Lynsey Curry (Texas State), Jennifer Flynn (Utah State)
Defensive Nominees: Andrea Weng (Louisiana Tech), Courtney Irwin (New Mexico State), Helen Phan (San Jose State)
Goalkeeper Nominees: Corina Brown (Louisiana Tech), Zoe Makrigiannis (San Jose State)