Rodriguez Named Student-Athlete of the Week

September 23, 2024 12:01 PM | General, Golf, Men's Soccer, Men's Swimming & Diving, Cross Country, Women's Soccer, Women's Swimming & Diving, Tennis, Volleyball

VSR September 23, 2024

By: Elizabeth Stash

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – After scoring a goal in both matches last week, fifth-year senior midfielder AJ Rodriguez of the West Virginia University women's soccer team has been named the WVU Student-Athlete of the Week, presented by University Apartments.

Rodriguez scored her first goal of the weekend in the Mountaineers' 2-0 win over Kansas State on Sept. 19, before recording a second tally against Kansas on Sept. 22. Her score against the Wildcats was credited as the game winner, the third of her career.

A native of Austin, Texas, Rodriguez has now scored a goal in three consecutive matches, including all three Big 12 Conference contests. She ranks second on the team with four goals so far this year.

West Virginia now prepares for its first-ever trip to Arizona for a pair of matchups against Arizona State and Arizona. The weekend begins in Tempe with a contest against the Sun Devils on Thursday, Sept. 26. Kickoff at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. MST.

This Week in Men's Soccer: The No. 5 Mountaineers are back home on Friday evening, Sept. 27, against Kentucky … kickoff from Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is set for 7 p.m. … it will be a Gold Rush with all fans encouraged to wear gold … head coach Dan Stratford will be this week's guest on the Olympic Sports Coaches Show which will be held at Mountain State Brewing Co., Tuesday, Sept. 24, from 6-7 p.m.

Last Week in Men's Soccer: West Virginia went 1-0-1 on the week, drawing with UNCG, 2-2, before defeating Old Dominion, 1-0, on the road in its Sun Belt opener … junior Marcus Caldeira and graduate student Sergio Ors Navarro each scored against the Spartans … junior Ethan Dekel Daks scored the game-winning goal against ODU, his first as a Mountaineer … freshman Isaac Scheer and sophomore Sam Nyenka each collected an assist this week.

Notes: Ors Navarro is second in the country with eight goals and fifth in the nation with 16 points … the Mountaineers won its Sun Belt opener for the first time after drawing in its openers in its first two seasons in the conference … WVU is unbeaten through seven games for the second straight season … Ors Navarro and Caldeira each scored their 20th career goals against UNC Greensboro … the Mountaineers will be looking for their first ever win over Kentucky as they are 0-3-1 against the Wildcats since starting the series in 2021.

This Week in Women's Soccer: West Virginia prepares for its first-ever trip to Arizona for a pair of matchups against Arizona State and Arizona ... the weekend begins in Tempe with a contest against the Sun Devils on Thursday, Sept. 26 ... kickoff at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. MST ... the trip concludes at Arizona on Sunday, Sept. 29 ... the match is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. MST at Murphey Field at Mulcahy Stadium in Tucson.

Last Week in Women's Soccer: The Mountaineers collected a pair of conference wins over Kansas State and Kansas last week ... on Sept. 19 vs. Kansas State, WVU secured a 2-0 victory with a pair of goals from midfielders AJ Rodriguez and Lisa Schöppl ... Rodriguez's game-winner was unassisted, while senior forward/midfielder Chloe Adler earned the assist on Schöppl's tally ... wrapping the weekend against Kansas on Sept. 22, West Virginia pulled out a 3-2 win in a scrappy contest that saw 23 total fouls ... junior forward Ajanae Respass, Rodriguez and sophomore forward Abbey Olexa found the back of the net in the victory ... fifth-year senior midfielder Lilly McCarthy and sophomore forward Jordyn Wilson earned assists on Respass' and Olexa's scores, respectfully, while Rodriguez's was unassisted.

Notes: With the wins, West Virgina moved to 3-0 in conference play this season, marking the first time it has started the Big 12 season 3-0 since 2018 ... it also marks the fifth time since joining the league in 2012 ... Olexa's score against KU, which was credited as the eventual game winner, marked the first goal of her collegiate career ... WVU remained unbeaten all-time against Kansas State, improving to 7-0-1 in the series ... WVU also moved to 10-3-2 all-time against the Jayhawks, including 4-1-1 in games played in Morgantown ... of note, the win over Kansas marked the first time West Virginia has allowed two or more goals and won since Oct. 23, 2022, at Oklahoma ... Respass continues to lead the WVU offense with five goals and 14 points this season ... she is tied for the team lead in assists with McCarthy, as the pair have tallied four apiece this season.

This Week in Volleyball: West Virginia opens Big 12 and home play on Sept. 25, hosting Cincinnati at 7 p.m. ET, inside the Coliseum ... the Mountaineers will then travel to Iowa State on Sept. 28 to face the Cyclones at 3 p.m. in Ames, Iowa at the Hilton Coliseum.

Last Week in Volleyball: The Mountaineers defeated Fairfield and Binghamton on Sept. 20 and 21, respectively ... WVU took down Fairfield in their second sweep of the season, 3-0 on Sept. 20 and concluded the weekend with a 3-2 win over Binghamton on Sept. 21.

Notes: Four Mountaineers collected career highs against Binghamton on Saturday, with redshirt junior Cassidy Tanton tallying 22 kills, junior outside hitter Quincey Coyle collecting 21 kills, sophomore setter Alexis Finnvold dishing 55 assists and sophomore middle blocker Maddy McGath dropping down eight total blocks ... Tanton leads West Virginia with 157 kills and 24 service aces.

This Week in Golf: The Mountaineers will be back in action on Monday, Sept. 30 and Tuesday, Oct. 1, when they host the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational at Mystic Rock Golf Course in Farmington, Pennsylvania.

Last Week in Golf: West Virginia did not compete.

This Week in Cross Country: The Mountaineers will return to competition on Oct. 5 for the Live in Lou Classic in Louisville, Kentucky at the E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park.

Last Week in Cross Country: West Virginia did not compete.

This Week in Tennis: West Virginia returns to competition at Thunder in the Mountains in Charleston, West Virginia, from Sept. 27-29.

Last Week in Tennis: West Virginia did not compete.

Notes: Senior Mille Haagensen was named a singles champion at the Bedford Cup in College Park, Maryland ... this was Haagensen's first appearance since transferring from Drake in the offseason ... she finished 3-0 in singles play.

This Week in Swimming and Diving: West Virginia unofficially begins the Brent MacDonald era with the gold-blue meet at The Aquatic Center at Mylan Park at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28.

Last Season in Swimming and Diving: The men's swimming and diving team placed fifth and the women's swimming and diving team placed sixth at the 2024 Big 12 Conference Championships ... in May, MacDonald was named the head coach of the Mountaineers as he spent the offseason constructing his coaching staff ... former Big East champion and WVU team captain, Michael Walker, was named associate head coach, Mark Butcher was named head diving coach, three-time Olympian, Sydney Pickrem was named assistant coach, former Florida Tech head coach, David Dent, was named assistant coach and James Washbish was retained from the previous staff as assistant coach.