SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Wofford forward Rachel Rasins and Mercer goalkeeper Jordyn Ebert have been named the Southern Conference women’s soccer offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, for all competition from Sept. 21-27.
 
Rasins, a junior, netted a pair of goals and assisted on a third in Wofford’s lone game of the week, a 3-2 win at preseason SoCcon favorite Furman. The match was the conference opener for both squads. Though Furman scored first, Wofford responded quickly as Caileen Almeida scored on a pass from Rasins in the 18^th minute. Rasins broke the tie with a goal of her own late in the first half when Katie Gilligan’s pass found Rasins at the top of the box, allowing Rasins to sneak a goal into the top left corner of the net, just past the goalkeeper. Out of the half, the Paladins netted a penalty kick to tie the score, but Rasins put the Terriers in front for good with a goal in the 77^th minute of play. The native of Flint, Michigan, took a touch at the top of the box off of a deflection and send the ball into the bottom left corner of the net for her second score of the contest. The victory was the first for Wofford at Furman since Oct. 29, 2009, and the first win in the series for the Terriers since the 2010 season.
 
Ebert, a graduate student, played all 200 minutes in goal and recorded a pair of shutouts on the road as Mercer downed Western Carolina 3-0 in the Bears’ conference opener on Friday and played to a scoreless draw against ETSU two days later. In the win over the Catamounts’, Ebert faced 14 shots and tallied four saves. Up 2-0, Ebert earned an assist as the goalkeeper sent a ball flying that found the foot of Nicole Icen, who netted a goal in the waning minutes of the first half and extended the lead to three. At ETSU, Ebert faced nine shots and recorded another four saves in the double-overtime bout.    
 
Wofford (3-7, 1-0 SoCon) returns home after two consecutive road games, welcoming ETSU (3-2-3, 0-1-1) on Friday, Oct. 1, and Western Carolina (6-4-1, 1-1) on Sunday, Oct. 3. Mercer (4-3-2, 1-0-1) also returns home after a pair of road contests to open conference play as the Bears host Samford (5-3-2, 2-0) on Friday and Chattanooga (4-5-2, 1-0-1) on Sunday.
  
Also nominated for offensive player of the week: Suzuka Yosue (The Citadel), Isabella Gutierrez (Furman), Kendall Cook (Mercer), Kyla Reynolds (Samford), Sylvie Keck (Chattanooga) and Valentine Pursey (Western Carolina).  

Also nominated for defensive player of the week: Jess Newton (The Citadel), Shu Ohba (ETSU), Morgan McAslan (Samford), Abbey Saddler (Chattanooga), Melody Mezzina (Western Carolina) and Maria Mon (Wofford).

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
 
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, Jr., GK, Samford
Sept. 14      Aiyanah Tyler-Cooper, Sr., GK, UNCG
Sept. 21      Shu Ohba, Fr., GK, ETSU
Sept. 28     Jordyn Ebert, Gr., GK, Mercer