LaRicci, Schaaf, Hendershot Voted Week Nine Soccer Players of the Week
Southland Conference
2017 Southland Conference Soccer Week 10 Notes (PDF)
FRISCO, Texas – McNeese seniors Savannah LaRicci and Nikki Schaaf, and Sam Houston State junior Christina Hendershot are the Southland Conference Soccer Players of the Week, the league announced Tuesday. Southland Players of the Week are presented by
UniversalCoin.com.
LaRicci earned her second Offensive Player of the Week award of the season while Schaaf earned the defensive honor, and Hendershot was named Goalkeeper of the Week. McNeese has now won five total weekly awards this season.
All teams are in action Friday and Sunday for two of the final three matchdays of the regular season. McNeese (12-3-1, 7-1-0 SLC), currently still in a deadlock atop the league standings with Lamar, first heads to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (6-6-2, 3-4-1 SLC) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. before facing Houston Baptist (6-5-2, 5-2-1 SLC) on the road Sunday at 1 p.m.
Sam Houston State (6-7-1, 3-4-1 SLC) takes on Abilene Christian (6-9-0, 4-4-0 SLC) on the road Friday at 7 p.m., then heads to San Antonio for an 11 a.m. kickoff at UIW (2-11-0, 1-7-0 SLC) on Sunday.
Offensive Player of the Week: Savannah LaRicci, McNeese – Sr. – Forward/Midfielder – Sugar Land, Texas
In her last weekend at Cowgirl Field, LaRicci made sure to make a mark in the Cowgirl record books. In Friday’s 3-0 win over Abilene Christian, she managed a hat trick in only 14 minutes for her first hat trick of her career and the fastest in program history. She has now tied her single-season high of 10 goals in a season and currently has 28 in her career. In Sunday’s 7-0 win over UIW, LaRicci earned her 17th career assist, tying her for first in program history.
Honorable Mention: Brooke Erdmann, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Sophie Fondren, Stephen F. Austin; Ashley Smith, Central Arkansas.
Defensive Player of the Week: Nikki Schaaf, McNeese – Sr. – Defender – Cypress, Texas
Schaaf played all 180 minutes as she led the back line to two shutouts while the Cowgirls outscored ACU and UIW a combined 10-0 this weekend. The McNeese defense allowed only seven shots on goal through the two matchups. With Sunday’s shutout, the 2017 Cowgirls are now the first squad in program history with 11 shutouts in a season. Schaaf is an integral part of the Cowgirl defense that is currently ranked fourth in the nation in overall goals against average (.328 in 15 games) and shutout percentage (.733).
Honorable Mention: Marie Lund, Lamar; Whitney Woodward, Sam Houston State; Mari Gillespie, Stephen F. Austin.
Goalkeeper of the Week: Christina Hendershot, Sam Houston State – Jr. – Goalkeeper – College Station, Texas
Hendershot posted two clean sheets on the weekend, extending her scoreless streak to 235 minutes. She recorded five saves and faced a combined 18 shots between Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana in a 0-0 tie and 2-0 win, respectively. The College Station native has now allowed one or fewer goals in each of her last four starts.
Honorable Mention: Allyson Smith, Stephen F. Austin; Kyleigh Hall, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi; Emma Roccaforte, McNeese.
Southland weekly award winners are nominated and voted upon by each school’s sports information director. Voting for one’s own athletes is not permitted. To earn honorable mention, a student-athlete must appear on 25 percent of ballots.