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Rich, Castillo Named NSCAA Players of the Week for Sept. 22

Posted by NSCAA on Sep 22, 2010 in Awards 0 Comments

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Alyssa Rich (North Carolina/Cincinnati, Ohio) and Juan Castillo (SMU/Kingwood, Texas) were the heroes in weekend tournament action and earned NSCAA National Player of the Week honors for the week of Sept. 22.
 
Rich kept the Tar Heels atop the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com national rankings by scoring four goals in two matches, while Castillo claimed most valuable player honors at the Bradley Tournament by leading the Mustangs to a pair of comeback victories and propelling them to No. 9 in the latest NSCAA/HendrickCars.com poll.
 
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. 3 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 Friday the spotlight shines on a battle for the top spot in the men’s NSCAA/HendrickCars.com national rankings as No. 2 Tulsa travels to Akron to face the No. 1 Zips. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
 
Alyssa Rich
F, So., North Carolina, Cincinnati, Ohio
Rich enjoyed a two-game stint that included a hat trick and the winning goal against the nation’s fifth-ranked team. She added an assist in addition to her four goals as the top-ranked Tar Heels won the championship of the 2010 Duke Nike Classic with wins over Middle Tennessee State, 7-1, and No. 5 Florida, 2-0. Rich scored the game-winning goals in both matches, was named to the All-Tournament Team and now leads the Tar Heels in goals (7) and total points (19). Rich had her first career hat trick and also assisted on the first goal in the win over the Blue Raiders, and her total points were the most by an ACC player in a single match this season. Two days later, Rich scored the game-winner in the 61st minute as the Tar Heels won a hard-fought battle against the Gators.
 
Juan Castillo
F, Fr., SMU, Kingwood, Texas
Helping to push the SMU Mustangs to a NCAA-leading 7-0 season start, freshman forward Juan Castillo continued his incredible play as SMU topped No. 16 Creighton, 3-2, in double-overtime and defeated Bradley 3-1 to take the Bradley Tournament Title. After falling behind 2-0 to No. 16 Creighton on Friday, Castillo started the SMU comeback with a breakaway goal in the 69th minute. He also drew the call to earn the game-winning PK in overtime. Sunday, he once again helped lead a Mustang comeback as he got SMU on the board in the 40th minute to tie the game, then assisted on the game-winner. Castillo was named tournament MVP for his efforts and is currently in the middle of a five-game goal-scoring streak. He sits atop the C-USA leaderboards in shots (30), goals (6) and game-winning goals (3) and ranks second in points (13). Nationally, the freshman ranks third in goals, fifth in total points, and 11th in goals per game while helping SMU to rank fourth in total goals.
 
This Year’s Recipients
Aug. 25: Women – Sydney Leroux, UCLA; Men – No selection (season not started).
Sept. 1: Women – Alyssa Mautz, Texas A&M; Men – No selection (season not started).
Sept. 8: Women – Katy Frierson, Auburn; Men – Darlington Nagbe, Akron
Sept. 15: Women – McKenzie Barney, Florida; Men – Andrew Fontein, UC Irvine

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