Katie Ryan (Villanova/Wayne, N.J.) and Casey Townsend (Maryland/Traverse City, Mich.) helped their teams to wins over nationally-ranked foes to earn Disney Soccer/NSCAA National Player of the Week honors for Oct. 5.

Ryan helped Villanova end a six-game slide by totaling nine points with three goals and as many assists in two wins, while Townsend became the first opponent to find the net against then-No. 2 Creighton in the Terps’ victory.

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 three consecutive nights of matches kick off with the reigning NCAA champion Akron Zips, ranked No. 3 in the latest NSCAA/Continental Tire national poll, heading west to face No. 19 UC Santa Barbara in a 10 p.m. ET match on Wednesday, Oct. 5. The women’s spotlight falls on the West Coast Conference, where Brigham Young hosts perennial power Portland at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, Oct. 6. The trifecta concludes on Friday, Oct. 7, with a men’s match pitting home-standing Portland hosts San Diego at 10 p.m. ET.

Katie Ryan
F, Sr., Villanova, Wayne, N.J.

Ryan tallied a total of nine points during a 2-0 week. She started with three points, including a goal, in a 3-1 win over Pittsburgh to snap a six-game Villanova losing streak. Ryan also played a part in all four scores in a 4-1 win over then-No. 22 West Virginia. She had two goals and two assists, totaling six points, the most by a Villanova player in a conference game since Quinn Sellers had six points in a 3-1 win over Georgetown on October 7, 1999.

Casey Townsend
F, Sr., Maryland, Traverse City, Mich.

Townsend led Maryland to a pair of wins over fellow top-12 nationally-ranked teams, including last Friday night’s 1-0 victory over second-ranked and previously unscored-against Creighton. Playing in front of nearly 5,700 fans at Maryland’s Ludwig Field, the MAC Hermann Trophy candidate provided the Terps with the game-winner in the 14th minute against Creighton to spark Maryland to its 10th win in 2011. He also tallied a goal in the squad’s 3-1 victory against No. 12 Charlotte earlier in the week. Townsend leads the Terps with a career-high 11 goals. He is currently seventh all-time in career goals at Maryland with 37. Maryland, now 3-0 against top-25 ranked opponents this season, is off to its best start since 1968.

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

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