KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association has announced its women’s soccer weekly awards for the ninth week of contests in the 2023 season.
MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week – Amaya Grace, Central Oklahoma
Amaya Grace led all MIAA scorers in the final week of regular season action in the league. The graduate student helped Central Oklahoma to a pair of wins on the final weekend of the regular season to help the Bronchos clinch a spot in the MIAA Soccer Championship. Grace scored four goals in two games and also had an assist. She scored the game’s first goal in a win over Rogers State to move from tenth to eighth in the MIAA ranks. Grace then recorded a hat trick in a weather-shortened game and 4-0 win over Newman. In total, she took 11 shots in two games and put seven on goal.
MIAA Defender of the Week – Kassidy Collins, Central Oklahoma
Kassidy Collins led the efforts of the defense for Central Oklahoma as the Bronchos won their final two games to clinch a spot in the MIAA Soccer Championship. Collins helped the Bronchos defense to one shutout. She also scored one goal in a weather-shortened win over Newman. Collins helped UCO limit Rogers to nine shots, four on goal, in the 2-1 win and helped limit Newman to seven shots, three on goal, in a shutout victory.
MIAA Goalkeeper of the Week – Lily Ellis, Northwest Missouri
Lily Ellis has been named the MIAA Goalkeeper of the Week for the second consecutive week. The sophomore keeper tallied two more shutouts to close the regular season with six consecutive shutouts. Ellis has led the team to a mark of 6-0-3 over its last nine matches. She made nine saves in the two matches – two saves in a 0-0 tie at Missouri Southern and seven in 2-0 win at Missouri Western.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Offensive
Mackenzie Dimarco – Emporia State
Mackenzie Dimarco scored the first two goals of the match in Emporia State’s 3-1 win over Nebraska Kearney, with the second goal being the eventual game-winning goal for her fourth of the season. Then in the Hornets 1-0 win over the league’s regular season champion Washburn, Dimarco assisted the lone goal for the Hornets.
Defenders
Joanie Westcoat – Emporia State
Joanie Westcoat played all 180 minutes in a pair of Emporia State wins, including a shutout win at Washburn for the Hornets fifth shutout of the season.
Reilly Madden – Fort Hays State
Reilly Madden helped FHSU to its 11th shutout of the season in the 1-0 win at Nebraska Kearney in the Tigers final league match of the season. The anchor of the Tiger defense played all 180 minutes over FHSU two matches for the week, limiting the opposition to just 7.0 shots per match and only 2.5 shots on goal per match for the week. The 11 regular season shutouts for FHSU matches the school record for shutouts in a regular season, reached for the second year in a row and four times overall since the program began in 2011.
Goalkeepers
Keeley Kroonenberg – Missouri Western
Keeley Kroonenberg collected 14 saves through the Griffons final two match of the 2023 regular season. With her team down 1-0 at No. 15-ranked Central Missouri, the junior goalkeeper bombed a free kick from just past midfield into the back of net, tying the match in the 86th minute. Thanks to Kroonenberg’s late-game heroics, the Griffons guaranteed themselves a spot in the MIAA Tournament.
NOMINATIONS FOR WOMEN’S SOCCER ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Offensive: Allison Worley (Fort Hays State), Whitney Gentry (Northeastern State)
Goalkeeper: Isabel Robben (Fort Hays State), Mackenzi Goan (Emporia State)
2023 MIAA WOMEN’S SOCCER ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Offensive Athlete of the Week
Week One: Hannah Mares, Fort Hays State
Week Two: Adell Gore, Northwest Missouri
Week Three: Mikayla Ernst, Central Missouri
Week Four: Sydney Taylor, Northeastern State
Week Five: Jaden Skinner, Missouri Western
Week Six: Mackenzie Dimarco, Emporia State
Week Seven: Kaylie Rock, Northwest Missouri
Week Eight: Mackenzie Dimarco, Emporia State
Week Nine: Amaya Grace, Central Oklahoma
Defender of the Week
Week One: Joanie Westcoat, Emporia State
Week Two: Morgan Martucci, Rogers State
Week Three: Lauren Nylund, Missouri Western
Week Four: Josie Boyle, Washburn
Week Five: Joanie Westcoat, Emporia State
Week Six: Reilly Madden, Fort Hays State
Week Seven: Lucia Fernandez, Northwest Missouri
Week Eight: Moria Franck, Northwest Missouri
Week Nine: Kassidy Collins, Central Oklahoma
Goalkeeper of the Week
Week One: Tiffany Brittan, Rogers State
Week Two: Isabel Robben, Fort Hays State
Week Three: Kristen Wright, Central Missouri
Week Four: Kristen Wright, Central Missouri
Week Five: Raegan Wells, Washburn & Mackenzi Goan, Emporia State
Week Six: Isabel Robben, Fort Hays State
Week Seven: Raegan Wells, Washburn
Week Eight: Lily Ellis, Northwest Missouri
Week Nine: Lily Ellis, Northwest Missouri