Kristin Player (UNCG/Placentia, Calif.) and Andrew Wenger (Duke/Lititz, Pa.) each enjoyed productive goal-scoring weeks to earn Disney Soccer/NSCAA National Player of the Week honors for Oct. 12.

Player’s three goals helped UNCG move into sole possession of first place in the Southern Conference, while Wenger continued his torrid 2011 pace by scoring four goals and pushing his nation-leading total to 15 for the season.

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. 8 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, a schedule of 20 men’s and women’s intercollegiate matches. This week features a Friday night doubleheader, kicking off when the New Hampshire men’s side travels to UMBC for a 7 p.m. ET clash. At 10 p.m. ET, the Stanford women put their No. 1 ranking on the line in a Pac-12 battle at Arizona State.

Kristin Player
F, Sr., UNCG, Placentia, Calif.

Player scored seven points on three goals and an assist last week, including scoring both game-winners as UNCG moved into sole possession of first place in the SoCon standings with a pair of road wins against The Citadel and College of Charleston. Player’s game-winners came in dramatic fashion, as they were both in the final seven minutes of games that had been tied to that point. Against The Citadel on Friday, Player’s goal in the 84th minute capped UNCG’s second rally of the day, snapping a 2-2 tie and putting the Spartans ahead for good with just minutes to play. Exactly one minute later, she assisted on another goal as UNCG added insurance. Two days later at CofC, Player scored both goals in UNCG’s 2-1 win. Her 13th-minute strike gave UNCG a lead it would hold most of the day before the Cougars tied the game in the 84th minute. Player answered quickly, scoring her second goal of the day in the 88th minute to give the Spartans the win.

Andrew Wenger
F, Jr., Duke, Lititz, Pa.

Wenger tallied four goals and nine points overall to help Duke push its unbeaten streak to seven games last week. Wenger netted the lone goal in Duke’s 1-0 shutout victory over Davidson on Tuesday night. Three days later, he registered his second career hat trick and assisted on the other score to match his career-high seven points to lead Duke to a 4-2 win over ACC foe N.C. State. He currently leads the ACC and the nation with 15 goals and 37 points overall. He ranks tied for seventh at Duke in single-season goals and is tied for ninth in single-season points. In Duke’s seven-game unbeaten streak, the junior has 31 points from 12 goals and seven assists.

This Year’s Recipients

Aug. 24: Women – Lexi Kopf, UC Irvine; Men – No selection (season not started)
Aug. 31: Women – Courtney Jones, North Carolina; Men – Tyler Riggs, Kentucky
Sept. 7: Women – Krista Lopez, Oklahoma State; Men – Billy Schuler, North Carolina
Sept. 14: Women – Lindsay Taylor, Stanford; Men – Tim Hopkinson, Old Dominion
Sept. 21: Women – Katie Stengel, Wake Forest; Men – Philip Aseweh, Liberty
Sept. 28: Women – Alexis Owens, Tennessee; Men – Steven Evans, Portland
Oct. 5: Women – Katie Ryan, Villanova; Men – Casey Townsend, Maryland

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