Forwards Heather O’Reilly (University of North Carolina/East Brunswick, N.J.) and Jarrod Smith (West Virginia/Havelock North, New Zealand) enjoyed productive scoring matches to claim NSCAA Player of the Week recognition for the week of Sept. 27.

O’Reilly led her Tar Heels to a pair of wins last week, including a key ACC match at home against No. 2 Florida State. She scored both goals to spark UNC to the 2-1, then added another goal against Miami to help improve North Carolina to No. 2 in the latest NSCAA/adidas rankings.

Smith demonstrated remarkable efficiency, scoring three times on only five shots as West Virginia split a pair of matches against ranked teams. He knocked in a rebound goal for the Mountaineers’ only score in a 2-1 loss at Virginia, then posted two goals and an assist in WVU’s 5-3 victory over Seton Hall.

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 Big 12 women’s battle as No. 8 Texas A&M (6-3-1) plays host to No. 17 Oklahoma State (8-1-1) on Wednesday, while Friday offers an ACC men’s clash with No. 14 Duke (7-1-1) on the road to No. 3 Maryland (8-1-0).

Heather O'Reilly, F, Sr., North Carolina, East Brunswick, N.J.
O’Reilly scored three goals during the week to propel North Carolina to a 2-0 record with wins over No. 2 Florida State and Miami. The senior forward scored both goals in the Tar Heels 2-1 victory over the Seminoles, which was featured as the NSCAA College Games of the Week on Fox Soccer Channel. O’Reilly opened the scoring with a 28-yard blast in the first half and followed that with the game-winner as she sent a bending shot from outside the top of the box with less than seven minutes remaining in the match. The goal was O’Reilly’s first game-winner of the season. On Sunday, O’Reilly would tally her third goal of the week in the 52nd minute against the visiting Hurricanes. The East Brunswick, N.J., native scored from 25 yards out to increase the Tar Heel lead to 3-1. North Carolina would go on for a 6-1 victory over Miami.

Jarrod Smith, F, Sr., West Virginia, Havelock North, New Zealand
Smith scored three goals on just five shots this week against two Top 25 teams – a 2-1 overtime loss at No. 2 Virginia (Sept. 19) and a 5-3 win over No. 21 Seton Hall (Sept. 23). Against Virginia, Smith tied the game at 1-1 in the 79th minute with a five-yard shot off a deflection. The senior notched two goals and one assist in the win over Seton Hall. Smith opened the game’s scoring just 5:34 into the game and scored again to start the second half at the 49:49 mark. Both were unassisted tallies.

Previous Winners
Women – Aug. 30: Shoko Mikami, Memphis; Sept. 6: Kelsey Carpenter, Texas; Sept. 13: Amy McClintock, Rice; Sept. 20: Erin Kane, Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Men – Aug. 30: Paul Leitelt, Valparaiso; Sept. 6: Stephen King, Maryland; Sept. 13: Yannick Reyering, Virginia; Maxwell Griffin, UCLA.

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