Shauna Stapleton (Purdue/Dayton, Ohio) and Jason Friel (Villanova/Dublin, Pa.) earned NSCAA National Player of the Week honors by leading their teams to tournament titles and upset victories over highly-ranked teams.

Stapleton scored three goals while leading Purdue to victory in the Nike/Husky Invitational in Seattle. She netted two goals in the Boilermakers’ 3-1 win over host Washington to start the weekend, then tallied the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over No. 1 Portland. The wins vaulted Purdue into this week’s NSCAA/adidas national rankings at No. 22. Friel posted two clean sheets as he helped Villanova earn first place in the Duke/adidas Classic in Durham, N.C. He earned tournament Most Outstanding Player with 10 saves against No. 2 Duke to open the weekend, then added two more against North Carolina State in the championship match.

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 are 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 are 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 will feature a pair of telecasts, including a women’s match on Thursday, Sept. 13, that will see Iona (0-4) travel to Colgate (2-2) for an 8 p.m. ET kickoff. Friday marks the beginning of the men’s schedule with a clash of two nationally-ranked teams as No. 19 Virginia Tech (3-1) faces No. 23 Tulsa (3-1) at 8 p.m. ET.

Shauna Stapleton
MF, Sr., Purdue, Dayton, Ohio
Stapleton scored three of Purdue’s four goals as the Boilermakers went 2-0 at the Nike/Husky Invitational. The senior netted the game winner as Purdue upset No. 1 Portland, marking the first time since 1999 that a Big Ten school knocked off a top-ranked opponent. Stapleton also scored twice in the Boilermakers’ 3-1 victory over Washington to open the tournament, marking the first multi-goal game of her career.

Jason Friel
GK, Sr., Villanova, Dublin, Pa.
Friel posted a pair of shutouts at the 26th annual Duke/adidas Classic in Durham, N.C. on Sept. 7 and 9. The senior made 10 saves in VU’s 1-0 win over host Duke on Friday evening and followed up that performance with a pair of saves in a 1-0 win over North Carolina State on Sunday. For his efforts Friel was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Earlier in the week, Friel made three saves in a 2-1 win over Siena.

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