Oct. 3, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State women's soccer standouts Kori Chapic (Novelty, Ohio) and Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) earned weekly awards on Monday. Chapic was tabbed as the Freshman of the Week in the Big Ten, while Hayes corralled a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer.com's Team of the Week.
Chapic received her first notable award of the season thanks to a game-winning goal against Ohio State this past Thursday and outstanding defense in a perfect 2-0 week for the Nittany Lions. Chapic headed home the deciding goal against the Buckeyes in the 47th minute as PSU downed Ohio State, 3-1.
Chapic then played a vital role for the Nittany Lion defense, limiting the Golden Gophers to just five shots all afternoon in a 1-0 shutout in St. Paul on Sunday. The last Nittany Lion to receive Freshman of the Week honors was current sophomore Taylor Schram (Canonsburg, Pa.) during the final week of the 2010 regular season.
TopDrawerSoccer.com has named Hayes to its team of the week twice this year after her National Player of the Week honors on Sept. 3. Hayes was equally as important as Chapic, if not more so, playing a part in every goal the Nittany Lions scored this past weekend. Hayes provided three helpers, her first career three-assist match, sparking Penn State's comeback win over Ohio State before scoring the game-winner in the victory over Minnesota.
Hayes, who is tied for the Big Ten and NCAA Division I lead in goals with 16, leads the conference with points with 37. Hayes is just one goal off from cracking the top three for most goals in a season by a Penn State sophomore and five points off from the same feat for points.
Penn State currently leads the Big Ten with a 4-1-0 record accompanying an 11-3-0 overall mark. The start is the best for the Nittany Lions since 2007 when they started 12-2-1.
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--NITTANY LIONS--