Goalkeeper Erin Kane (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee/St. Charles, Mo.) and forward Maxwell Griffin (UCLA/Palmdale, Calif.) showed that the sophomore jinx was something they administered to their opponents while claiming NSCAA Player of the Week recognition for the week of Sept. 20.

Kane led her Panthers to the program’s first win in eight years over a ranked team by making three saves and assisting on the game’s lone goal in a 1-0 victory over No. 16 Missouri at the Badger Tournament in Madison, Wis. Griffin played a role in three of the four goals scored by UCLA during a pair of wins over ranked opponents, propelling the Bruins to No. 10 in the latest NSCAA/adidas national ranking this week.

Each week, a male and female player will be selected by a committee from a nomination pool comprised of players of the week from each NCAA Division I soccer conference. The players will be announced each Wednesday afternoon from now until Nov. 1 through NSCAA.com, the official website of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. They also will be recognized at halftime of the NSCAA College Game of the Week on Fox Soccer Channel, a schedule of 20 men’s and women’s intercollegiate matches. This week’s schedule features a key ACC women’s battle as No. 2 Florida State (6-0-0) travels to Chapel Hill to face No. 4 North Carolina (8-1-0) on Thursday, while Friday will see an intrastate rivalry between regionally-ranked Coastal Carolina (4-2-2) and host North Carolina-Greensboro (4-4).

Erin Kane, GK, So., UW-Milwaukee, St. Charles, Ill.
Kane led the Panthers to a 2-0-1 record last week, shutting out all three opponents and tallying an assist. She made seven saves in shutting out Marquette Tuesday, Kentucky through two overtimes Friday and No. 16 Missouri Sunday. Against Mizzou, she had three saves and assisted on the game's lone goal. It was UWM's first win over a ranked opponent since 1998.

Maxwell Griffin, F, So., UCLA, Palmdale, Calif.
UCLA won a pair of games against Top 10 opponents, defeating No. 7 Santa Clara (2-1) and No. 11 San Francisco (2-0) this weekend. Griffin had a hand in three of the four goals scored. Against Santa Clara, Griffin broke a scoreless tie with a goal at 66:36, and just 19 seconds later assisted on Jason Leopoldo’s goal that put UCLA up 2-0. Griffin, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Sunday, also scored first for UCLA against San Francisco, striking at 16:19 after receiving a pass from Chance Myers and dribbling between two defenders to take the shot. Griffin leads UCLA in scoring with five goals and 11 points in just seven games, already surpassing his totals from last season.

Previous Winners
Women – Aug. 30: Shoko Mikami, Memphis; Sept. 6: Kelsey Carpenter, Texas; Sept. 13: Amy McClintock, Rice.
Men – Aug. 30: Paul Leitelt, Valparaiso; Sept. 6: Stephen King, Maryland; Sept. 13: Yannick Reyering, Virginia.

NSCAA members log in to comment. Not a member? Learn more today.