Donald Mason, a defender for the Capital Area RailHawks U18 Development Academy team, and Taylor Kornieck, a midfielder for the Las Vegas Premier U16 ECNL team, are the TopDrawerSoccer.com Academy Players of the Week.

Murphy scored a hat trick in CASL’s impressive 4-0 dismantling of fellow playoff squad Orlando City, while Kornieck had a hat trick of her own in LV Premier’s 3-0 win over So Cal Blues to stay in the playoff chase in the ECNL’s Southwest Conference.

The last six months have been good to Mason. In October, U18 Men’s National Team coach Javier Perez handed Mason his first camp call-up in Carson, California. The camp was one of the first in a chain meant to eventually identify 2017 U20 World Cup players, and Mason has put himself in good stead with a string of high class performances with CASL. Last weekend was just next in line. CASL smashed a solid Orlando City side by four goals to stay comfortably atop the Southeast Division, and raiding right back Mason put in three of those. He scored the first in the fifth minute, and tacked on 44th and 66th-minute tallies to round out the demolition.

As recently as last summer, Kornieck was starring for the San Diego Surf U15 team as its ticking heartbeat in the midfield. Her technician’s brain mixed with her uncommon length earned her TDS Best XI honors for her performance at the ECNL finals last year, where the Surf won the U15 national title. Now, Kornieck is finishing her club career in Las Vegas with LV Premier, and she’s picking up where she left off. In 20 matches this season she has 19 goals and seven assists, which means she’s been involved in all but one goal the team’s scored all season. Her hat trick last week accounted for 100 percent of the team’s scoring, as LV Premier coasted past a quality So Cal Blues team to keep hold of the last playoff spot out of the Southwest Conference.

The TopDrawerSoccer.com Academy Player of the Week is designed to reward top performances from the previous week’s action in both the U.S. Soccer Development Academy and the Elite Clubs National League. Winners are chosen on a variety of litmuses, and the public is free to submit nominations for consideration each week. Those can be sent to Will Parchman at wparchman@topdrawersoccer.com.

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