ROSEMONT, Ill. – No. 10 Penn State women's soccer saw a trio of student-athletes land weekly accolades, as senior+ midfielder Cori Dyke and graduate goalkeeper Katherine Asman garnered Big Ten Player of the Week honors, while senior defender Ellie Wheeler was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Honorable Mention National Team of the Week, the organizations announced Tuesday.
Dyke, Asman and Wheeler were instrumental in the Nittany Lions opening the program's 30th season undefeated through the first week of competition, as the trio helped lead Penn State to a scoreless season-opening draw against the second-ranked and defending national runner-up North Carolina Tar Heels. PSU's three veteran leaders in the defensive backfield also played a critical role in guiding the Blue & White to its best offensive performance since 2005 in an 8-0 victory over the West Chester Golden Rams on Sunday, Aug. 20.
A team captain and native of Littleton, Colorado, Dyke garnered recognition as the Big Ten Conference's Defensive Player of the Week, marking the first weekly recognition from the league office in her career. Typically a midfielder in the Nittany Lion starting XI, Dyke made her first two appearances of the 2023 campaign at the center-back spot, playing all 90 minutes against the Tar Heels while holding UNC redshirt sophomore and All-ACC forward Ally Sentnor scoreless with zero shots on goal in the match. In Dyke's ensuing performance against West Chester, the Nittany Lion tallied her first goal of the year on a magnificent 24-yard banger to put PSU up two in the eventual 8-0 result.
Asman, a team captain and veteran goalkeeper out of Roswell, Georgia, helped guide the Penn State defense to a pair of season-opening shutouts last week, highlighted by a two-save complete-match clean sheet against the Tar Heels to begin her final year in Happy Valley. Asman recorded the 19th shutout of her collegiate career against UNC and followed that performance up with 40 minutes of work against the Golden Rams that saw all three Nittany Lion keepers take the field. Currently tied for the B1G lead in goals-against-average at 0.00, Asman split her season-opening weekly honor with Wisconsin's Erin McKinney. Her B1G Co-Goalkeeper of the Week designation is the fifth weekly award that Asman has received from the conference office in her career.
Wheeler, a native of Fairfax Station, Virginia, becomes the first Nittany Lion to secure TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week honors since Ally Schlegel did so on Nov. 8 of last year. The senior defender has already been dominant in her full-back role for the Nittany Lions, playing all 90 minutes against North Carolina and limiting a talented Tar Heel attack to just two shots on goal in the match overall. Her efforts in the back line last week directly contributed to Penn State maintaining a 0.00 goals-against-average as a team through the first week of play, making PSU one of just four B1G squads yet to surrender a score. Her recognition from TopDrawerSoccer marked the first national or conference weekly accolade of her collegiate career.
The 10th-ranked Nittany Lions return to the pitch this Thursday, Aug. 24, as the Blue & White travel to Morgantown, West Virginia, to square off against the West Virginia Mountaineers. Kickoff from Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 5 p.m., with streaming available via ESPN+. Penn State returns home to Happy Valley this Sunday, Aug. 27, with a 1 p.m. contest against the ninth-ranked TCU Horned Frogs on Jeffrey Field.
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Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State women's soccer. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion women's soccer team on X and Instagram @PennStateWSOC, in addition to the team's Facebook page at /PSUWomensSoccer.
The 30th Season of Penn State women's soccer is presented by the Smeal College of Business.
