SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Furman forward Nieva Gaither and ETSU goalkeeper Shu Ohba have been named the Southern Conference women’s soccer offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, for all competition from Oct. 19-25. The weekly award is the final of the season.  
 
For the second straight week, Gaither led Furman with six points on three goals, pacing the Paladins to a 2-0 week with wins at Mercer and at The Citadel as Furman locked up the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Southern Conference Women’s Soccer Championship. Against the Bears on Oct. 22, the Lilburn, Georgia, native netted two goals, one of which came on a penalty kick, in a 4-3 win. Two days later, Gaither scored the game-winner in a 4-0 win over The Citadel.
 
Ohba helped ETSU to a 2-0 road weekend as the Bucs picked up a 2-1 win at UNCG and a 1-0 win at VMI. The native of Fujisawa, Japan, played all 180 minutes in goal, totaling 11 saves and a shutout while allowing just one goal. At UNCG on Friday, Ohba faced 19 shots and tallied six saves. Against the Keydets in Sunday’s regular-season finale, Ohba posted her seventh shutout of the year, extending ETSU’s single-season record, and tallied five saves in the win. ETSU, which was picked ninth in the preseason coaches poll, earned the No. 4 seed in the SoCon Championship and secured a winning season for the first time since 2016. The Bucs swept a conference weekend for the first time since beating UNCG and VMI on Oct.12 and Oct. 14, 2018, and improved to 5-2-1 on the road, tying the most road wins in a single season in program history. The weekly honor was the third of the year for Ohba, tied for the most in a single-season in conference history, joining Samford’s Jermaine Seoposenwe who accomplished the feat in 2017.
 
As the No. 2 seed, Furman (10-5-1, 6-3 SoCon) will host quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the SoCon Championship. The Paladins will face the winner of No. 7 The Citadel (9-6-2, 3-4-2) and No. 10 VMI (3-15-1, 0-8-1) on Friday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. ETSU will take on No. 5 Mercer (6-5-5, 3-2-4) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT in Birmingham, Alabama.
 
Also nominated for offensive player of the week: Momoko Horiuchi (ETSU), Ally Fordham (Mercer), Mary Raymond (Samford) and Savannah Vathy (Wofford).

Also nominated for defensive player of the week: Faith Hauberg (Furman), Kylie Buchanan (Mercer), Morgan McAslan (Samford) and Ashlee Owens (Western Carolina).

2021 SoCon Women’s Soccer Offensive Players of the Week
Aug. 24       Hannah Farr, So., MF, Furman
Aug. 31       Riley Flanagan, Fr., F, VMI
Sept. 7        Alyssa Frazier, Sr., MF, Samford
Sept. 14      Kyra Ranvek, So., F, ETSU
Sept. 21      Naya Marcil, Fr., F/MF, Western Carolina
Sept. 28      Rachel Rasins, Jr., F, Wofford
Oct. 5         Valentine Pursey, Gr., F, Western Carolina
Oct. 12       Caroline Woods, So., MF, UNCG
Oct. 19       Nieva Gaither, So., F, Furman
Oct. 26       Nieva Gaither, So., F, Furman
 
2021 SoCon Women’s Soccer Defensive Players of the Week
Aug. 24       Aiyanah Tyler-Cooper, Sr., GK, UNCG
Aug. 31       Sydney Somogyi, Fr., D, ETSU
Sept. 7       Morgan McAslan, Sr., GK, Samford
Sept. 14      Aiyanah Tyler-Cooper, Sr., GK, UNCG
Sept. 21      Shu Ohba, Fr., GK, ETSU
Sept. 28     Jordyn Ebert, Gr., GK, Mercer
Oct. 5         Morgan McAslan, Sr., GK, Samford
Oct. 12       Shu Ohba, Fr., GK, ETSU
Oct. 19       Jess Newton, So., GK, The Citadel
Oct. 26       Shu Ohba, Fr., GK, ETSU