Women's Team of the Week: Nov. 11

by TopDrawerSoccer

November 12, 2024

In a unique situation, the Player of the Week did not play a single minute as Sierra Sonko was substituted for three different penalty shootouts, delivering each time to lead Sacramento State to an unlikely title.

MORE: Women's Division l Scoreboard

The redshirt freshman had only played four collegiate minutes when the coaching staff called on her to face No. 4 seeded Northern Arizona in the Big Sky quarter-final. Sonko delivered with two penalty stops, then repeated the feat against No. 1 Montana and again in the final versus No. 2 Idaho to lead the Hornets from the No. 5 seed to their first championship in 14 years. Izzy Palmatier deserves a special mention for her excellent work in regulation and overtime to send all three matches to penalty kicks.

Check out the Women's Team of the Week, presented by KwikGoal.

Please send any future Team of the Week nominations to college@topdrawersoccer.com

Player of the Week: Sierra Sonko, Sacramento State

Women’s Team of the Week: November 4-10

GK: Sierra Sonko, Sacramento State - The penalty specialist lived up to the billing with three shootout victories to lead the Hornets to an improbable Big Sky title.

D: Carly Montgomery, Texas - The rising star did not leave the pitch once and scored the championship game-winner in a week where the Longhorns defeated LSU 3-0, No. 7 Arkansas 2-1, and No. 21 South Carolina 1-0 to win the SEC tournament title.

D: Olivia Page, Kansas - Another sophomore center back who shined, Page played 180 minutes and scored the semi-final game-winner as the Jayhawks upset No. 20 Texas Tech and then shut out No. 6 TCU 1-0 to win the Big 12 championship.

D: Lyndsey Heckel, Saint Louis - Heckel played 90 minutes in a 2-0 semi-final shutout of Saint Joseph’s, then scored the game-winner in the A10 tournament final as Saint Louis defeated Massachusetts 3-1.

M: Taylor Huff, Florida State - Clutch time and time again, Huff played 200 minutes and scored against both Wake Forest and North Carolina to lead the Seminoles to the ACC postseason title.

M: Lara Kirkby, Maine - With a goal and two assists across the semi-final and final, Kirkby showed up to lead the Black Bears past Massachusetts-Lowell and New Hampshire to the CAA title.

M: Paige Armstrong, USC Upstate - Following a goal in the 2-1 semi-final defeat of Presbyterian, Armstrong put on an MVP performance with a goal and two assists in a 3-0 defeat of High Point.

M: Kiara Pralle, Lipscomb - The North Carolina did her work in the semi-final with three goals and an assist to defeat Central Arkansas 7-0, then played all 90 minutes in a narrow 1-0 final victory over Eastern Kentucky.

F: Abigail Werthman, Western Michigan - After scoring in the 4-1 semi-final defeat of Kent State, Werthman put on a final performance for the ages with a hat trick and two assists in a 5-0 defeat of Buffalo.

F: Devin Greer, UC Santa Barbara - Greer was incredible with three goals and two assists to have a hand in all five goals the Gauchos scored in a 3-2 semi-final defeat of UC Davis, then a 2-2 final draw with CSU Bakersfield that resulted in a penalty shootout victory.

F: Kayla Rollins, Wisconsin-Milwaukee - With a hat trick in a 7-0 semi-final defeat of Robert Morris, then a double in the 2-1 final victory of Northern Kentucky, Rollins managed five goals in a special championship run.

Honorable Mention: GK Maeve English (East Carolina), D Quincy McMahon (UCLA), D Erin Morgan (Stephen F. Austin), D Laci Lewis (Connecticut), M Linn Beck (Stony Brook), M Lexi Missimo (Texas), M Deborah Bien-Aime (Florida International), M Kaylie Chambers (Utah State), F Julia Kristensen (Missouri State), F Shea Collins (James Madison), F Katelyn Beulke (South Dakota State)