MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – On the heels of her five-point effort at the Penn State Invitational, junior forward Kelsie Maloney of the West Virginia University women’s soccer team has been named the Big 12 Conference Offensive Player of the Week.
The honor is the first career award for the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, native.
Maloney tallied five points in two matches over the weekend at PSU’s Jeffrey Field, assisting in the Mountaineers’ lone goal in a 3-1 loss at then-No. 11 Penn State on Aug. 22, and tallying two assists and one goal in the team’s come-from-behind, 3-2 victory over Missouri on Aug. 24.
“It’s great to receive this honor,” said Maloney. “I really couldn’t have earned this without my teammates. We didn’t play our best against Penn State, and we knew Missouri was going to come out and give us a good game. They did, but we showed a lot of character in that game and showed everyone what West Virginia soccer stands for. We worked for that result against Missouri.”
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Down two goals to the Tigers in the 47th minute, Maloney connected with senior forward Kate Schwindel on the team’s first goal in the 54th minute and the game-winner in the 89th minute. She also evened the score at 2-2 in the 62nd minute, taking a pass from junior forward Kailey Utley and playing with the Mizzou defenders before taking a blast from the top of the box that went far post.
The four-point effort Sunday was a career single-game record for Maloney. The two assists also were a record.
Maloney also had a hand in the Mountaineers’ first goal of the season, setting-up sophomore defender Kadeisha Buchanan’s score in the 72nd minute.
With five points (1 G, 3 A), Maloney stands alone at the top of the Big 12 rankings. She also ranks No. 2 in assists.
The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Continental Tire College Rankings also were announced today, and WVU (1-1) dropped one spot to No. 13. The Mountaineers continue to draw the highest ranking of the Big 12 teams, with Texas Tech coming in at No. 16 this week.
UCLA is ranked No. 1, while Florida State is No. 2 and Virginia is No. 3. Virginia Tech and Stanford round out the top five.
WVU also ranks No. 17 in the BennettRank Rankings and No. 18 in the Soccer America Top 25; the Mountaineers ranked No. 20 and No. 16, respectively, in last week’s polls. Additionally, WVU landed at No. 11 in yesterday’s TopDrawerSoccer.com Top 25 Poll.
The Mountaineers open their 2014 home season at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium this Friday, Aug. 29, against No. 21 Duke (0-2), at 7:30 p.m. The match is a “Dollar Night,” with all tickets, hot dogs, popcorn and Coca-Colas available for $1 each. Additionally, it is a “Gold Rush,” with all fans encouraged to wear gold in support of the Mountaineers. All fans also will receive a 2014 women’s soccer schedule poster.
The team also will play host to Elon (1-1) on Sunday, Aug. 31, at 1 p.m.
The Mountaineer Ticket Office is now offering a Varsity Sports Flex Plan, a bargain for families who plan on attending a WVU varsity sporting event. Flex plan packages are available for just $20. A package provides 10 vouchers redeemable for single-game tickets at any of these WVU sporting events: women’s soccer, men’s soccer, volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling.
