UC Riverside sophomore Celina Valencia and UC Santa Barbara junior Makenna Henry delivered impressive performances for their teams and were rewarded with their selections as the Big West Women's Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week respectively.

Valencia Heavily Involved In Highlander Offense

Sophomore Celina Valencia (Alhambra, Calif./Ramona Convert) played a role in nearly every UC Riverside goal, claiming Big West Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Valencia helped the Highlanders to a 1-1 tie against New Mexico State and a 3-2 overtime victory versus UTEP at the UC Riverside Tournament.  Valencia delivered the lone score for UCR in the Aggie match and took four shots overall.

Down 2-0 versus the Miners, Valencia kick started the Highlander comeback with a goal near the end of the first period.  She then assisted on the tying goal with 12:35 to go in the match and UCR went on to win 3-2 in overtime.

It was just the second time in program history that the Highlanders overcame a two goal deficit to win a match.  The first time occurred on August 31, 2007 in a 3-2 victory against Florida Atlantic.

Others nominated: Cori Deason (Cal State Northridge); Nadia Link (Long Beach State); Ashley Edwards (UC Davis); Laura McGrail (UC Irvine)

Henry Preserves 0-0 Tie Against Indiana With Eight Saves

Junior Makenna Henry (Fountain Valley, Calif./Fountain Valley HS) collected Big West Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week honors after an impressive eight-save effort against Indiana.

The Gauchos settled for a scoreless tie against the Hoosiers, with Henry's eight stops a primary reason for the result.  It was the third time in four matches that the netminder has recorded eight or more saves.  In this particular match, Henry saved eight of the 12 shots she faced.

UCSB's offense has managed just one goal in four games this season.

Others nominated: Cynthia Jacobo (Cal State Northridge); Kelsey Wilson (Long Beach State); Haley O'Brien (UC Irvine)