Gina DiMartino (Boston College/Bethpage, N.Y.) and Ayo Akinsete (South Carolina/London, England) have earned NSCAA National Player of the Week honors for Oct. 25.

DiMartino posted a total of five points last week, including the game-winning goal as Boston College defeated No. 12-ranked Virginia on the road. She then added a goal and an assist in the Eagles 3-3 tie at Virginia Tech. Akinsete’s goal with 16 seconds remaining in regulation propelled South Carolina to a 1-1 tie with No. 1-ranked SMU in Dallas. He then scored the game-winning goal and logged an assist in a 2-1 conference victory at Central Florida.

Each week, a male and female player will be selected by 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 women’s Big West Conference match-up with Long Beach State (13-3-1) traveling to CSU-Fullerton (8-6-2) on Wednesday, Oct. 25. A pair of men’s games will originate from the state of Virginia, with William and Mary (8-7-3) traveling to Old Dominion (11-4-1) on Thursday, Oct. 26, and a critical ACC match-up pitting No. 3 Wake Forest (14-2-1) against No. 2 Virginia (13-2-0) in Charlottesville on Friday, Oct. 27.

Gina DiMartino, F, Fr., Boston College, Bethpage, N.Y.
On Friday, DiMartino scored the game-winner in the Eagles’ 1-0 victory over No. 12 Virginia in Charlottesville. It was the fourth game-winning goal scored by DiMartino this season and third converted in league play. In a 3-3 tie at Virginia Tech on Sunday, DiMartino added to her league-leading total with her 13th goal of the season. It was her fourth straight match with a goal.  With the Eagles down 2-0, the Bethpage, N.Y., native got Boston College on the board with a goal in the 19th minute as she fired a shot from 10 yards out for the score. DiMartino would add an assist at 53:13 in the second half as she found Kelly Henderson for the third goal of the afternoon.

Ayo Akinsete, F, Sr., University of South Carolina, London, England
Akinsete scored the tying goal with just 16 seconds remaining in regulation as South Carolina battled No. 1 SMU to a 1-1 tie on Wednesday. USC is the only team to tie the undefeated Mustangs on their home field. Akinsete was also credited with an assist and the game-winning goal in a 2-1 Conference USA win against Central Florida on Saturday.

Previous Winners
Women – Aug. 30: Shoko Mikami, Memphis; Sept. 6: Kelsey Carpenter, Texas; Sept. 13: Amy McClintock, Rice; Sept. 20: Erin Kane, Wisconsin-Milwaukee; Sept. 27: Heather O’Reilly, North Carolina; Oct 4: Roberta Pelargio, Central Florida; Oct. 11: Jessica Maxwell, North Carolina; Oct. 18: Kala Morgan, Middle Tennessee State
Men – Aug. 30: Paul Leitelt, Valparaiso; Sept. 6: Stephen King, Maryland; Sept. 13: Yannick Reyering, Virginia; Sept. 22: Maxwell Griffin, UCLA; Sept. 27: Jarrod Smith, West Virginia; Oct. 4: Riley O’Neill, Kentucky; Oct. 11: Nick Perera, UC Santa Barbara; Oct. 18: David Cappuccio, Colgate

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