PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Four American Athletic Conference players were honored with the conference’s first women’s soccer weekly awards for the 2014 season. UCF senior Tatiana Coleman was named Offensive Player of the Week while Temple senior Alyssa Kirk garnered Defensive Player of the Week honors. UConn sophomore Emily Armstrong earned Goalkeeper of the Week honors while Houston junior goalkeeper Jordan Brown grabbed Rookie of the Week accolades.
Coleman scored both goals for No. 23/19 UCF in its 2-1 season opening win over Miami (Fla.). The forward also had three shots on goal for the game. The win helped the Knights stay unbeaten versus the Canes over the last five meetings.
Kirk anchored a defense that gave up only five shots on goal in a pair of shutout wins over Binghamton and Mount St. Mary’s. The defender also scored the game-winning goal against Mount St. Mary’s on a corner kick and assisted on another goal.
Armstrong recorded her seventh career shutout in the season opening win over Hofstra on Aug. 22. The sophomore stopped seven shots versus the Pride and made four saves against Navy for a .917 save percentage over the weekend. Armstrong went 2-0 and played in all 180 minutes in both contests.
Brown stopped seven shots, played in 200 minutes at goalkeeper and earned shutouts versus Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and McNeese State while playing with a back line that was missing two starters. The 2-0 victory over the Cowgirls snapped a 16-game winless streak for Houston dating back to last season.
Honor Roll
Katy Couperus, Cincinnati, M, So.
Couperus recorded one goal and two assists in wins at Samford and Mississippi State…The sophomore assisted on the game-winning goal vs. Samford and scored the game-winner vs. Mississippi State.
Madison Smith, Tulsa, F, Jr.
Smith assisted on both game-winning goals and attempted four shots in wins over Abilene Christian and Arkansas State.
Rachel Hill, UConn, F, So.
Hill tallied four points and scored in both of UConn’s wins on opening weekend.
Sophie Howard, UCF, D, Jr.
Howard played in all 90 minutes at center back vs. Miami (Fla.) and assisted on the first goal of the game…The UCF defense limited the Hurricanes to five total shots and just two on goal.
Gina DiTaranto, Temple, M, Jr.
DiTaranto scored the game-winning goal in a win at Binghamton and added two more goals vs. Mount St. Mary’s for six points over the weekend.
Quick Kicks
American teams went 12-5-1 in the opening week of the season. Eight of the 10 teams posted at least one win while four went 2-0 through two games.