Laura Weinberg (Duke/Boca Raton, Fla.) and Chip Sanders (Davidson/Thomasville, Ga.) led their teams to victories over ranked opponents and have earned Disney Soccer/NSCAA National Player of the Week honors for Oct. 26.

Weinberg led the Blue Devils to wins over a pair of top-15 teams, while Sanders tallied a total of 14 saves to propel Davidson to its first victory over a top-10 team since 2009.

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 the women’s match features the Oklahoma State Cowgirls at home in a key Big 12 Conference match against Texas Tech, with kickoff scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Oct. 27. The men’s match on Friday, Oct. 28, will see High Point host Virginia Commonwealth at 7 p.m. ET.

Laura Weinberg
F, So., Duke, Boca Raton, Fla.

Weinberg led the sixth-ranked Blue Devils to a pair of wins over fellow top-15 ranked opponents and sole possession of first place in the ACC standings with one regular-season game remaining. Weinberg keyed Duke to victories over No. 3 Wake Forest and No. 15 Maryland to give the Blue Devils a school-record seven ACC wins on the season. At Wake Forest, Weinberg notched two second-half goals to lead Duke to a 2-0 victory. The goals snapped Wake goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe's scoreless streak at 515:46, which was the second-longest streak in school history. Duke’s win also snapped an 11-game unbeaten streak for the Demon Deacons. Weinberg came off the bench on senior day Sunday and took three shots, including two on goal, as Duke won 3-1 against Maryland. The Boca Raton, Fla., sophomore now has seven goals this season, which ranks second on the Duke team.

Chip Sanders
K, Sr., Davidson, Thomasville, Ga.

Sanders made seven saves in each match last week, helping Davidson earn 1-0 shutout victories against No. 2 North Carolina and Wofford. Sanders’ effort against the Tar Heels on Monday evening ended North Carolina’s nine-match unbeaten streak and gave the Wildcats their first victory over a top 10 opponent since 2009. The Thomasville, Ga., native tied the Davidson goalkeeper record for shutouts in a season at eight with his clean sheet against the Terriers on Saturday.


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
Oct. 12: Women – Kristin Player, UNCG; Men – Andrew Wenger, Duke
Oct. 19: Women – Kate Howarth, Miami; Men – Mark Sherrod, Memphis

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