BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Bucknell received a pair of weekly awards, while Army West Point, Boston University and Lafayette each earned one honor apiece when the League office announced the women’s soccer awards on Monday.

After scoring a pair of first-half goals in Lafayette’s 3-0 victory, junior midfielder Sofia Ruggiero was selected as the Patriot League Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week.

Bucknell junior midfielder Sydney Hess earned Patriot League Women’s Soccer Midfielder of the Week honors after scoring the game-winning goal in the Bison’s 1-0 win. Army senior Keira Vesy collected Patriot League Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.

Bucknell junior Jess Benattar earned Patriot League Women’s Soccer Goalkeeper of the Week following her fourth shutout and Boston University freshman forward Jaiden Schultz was named the Patriot League Women’s Soccer Rookie of the Week.

Earning honorable mentions for their performances last week were Army West Point junior midfielder Brigid Duffy, senior forward Grace Edvald, freshman defender Grace Pohlidal and senior goalkeeper Sage Strohman, Colgate junior midfielder Ari Bezanson, Navy junior forward Isabella Romano and freshman goalkeeper Natasha Stramrood and Loyola Maryland junior defender Zoe Willis.

The Patriot League women’s soccer players of the week are selected in a vote by League head coaches, who are not eligible to vote for their student-athletes.

2024 Patriot League Women’s Soccer Standings (as of October 7)

School	PL	PL Pct.	Points	Overall	Overall Pct.
Bucknell	3-1-0	.750	9	7-3-2	.667
Army West Point	3-1-0	.750	9	9-3-0	.750
Boston University	2-0-2	.750	8	2-7-4	.308
Holy Cross	2-1-1	.625	7	5-7-1	.423
Navy	2-1-1	.625	7	8-6-1	.567
Lafayette	2-1-1	.625	7	5-4-1	.550
Colgate	1-2-1	.375	4	3-8-2	.308
Loyola Maryland	0-1-3	.375	3	4-3-5	.542
American	0-3-1	.125	1	4-4-2	.500
Lehigh	0-4-0	.000	0	1-7-4	.250

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Patriot League Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Sofia Ruggiero, Lafayette, Jr., Midfielder, Montreal, Quebec/Pearson
*Ruggiero found the back of the net twice in the first half of Lafayette’s 3-0 victory over American on the road. It marked the first and second career goals for the Montreal, Quebec native.

Patriot League Women’s Soccer Midfielder of the Week
Sydney Hess, Bucknell, Jr., Midfielder, Benton, Pa./Benton Area
*Hess delivered the game's only goal, the second of her career, in the 67th minute when she headed home a corner kick in Bucknell's 1-0 win over Holy Cross.
*The junior played all 90 minutes and contributed to the Bison’s sixth shutout of the season.

Patriot League Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Keira Vesy, Army West Point, Sr., Defender, Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River
*Vesy guided the Army back line to its second consecutive shutout and the fourth clean sheet of the season in Saturday’s 1-0 victory against Lehigh. The senior logged a full 90 minutes for the 10th time this season.

Patriot League Women’s Soccer Goalkeeper of the Week
Jess Benattar, Bucknell, Jr., Goalkeeper, Cranbury, N.J./Notre Dame
*Benattar improved to 6-1-1 and recorded her fourth solo shutout of the season after making three saves in Bucknell's 1-0 win over Holy Cross.
*The junior leads the Patriot League in goals-against average (.505) and ranks third in save percentage (.846).

Patriot League Women’s Soccer Rookie of the Week
Jaiden Schultz, Boston University, Fr., Forward, West Orange, N.J./West Orange
*Schultz tallied her first career goal in the 33rd minute to help Boston University remain unbeaten in Patriot League play with a 1-1 draw against Navy on Saturday.

Honorable Mentions
Brigid Duffy, Army West Point, Jr., Midfielder, Queensbury, N.Y./Queensbury
*Duffy assisted on the game-winning goal in the 11th minute of Army’s 1-0 victory over Lehigh on Saturday.
*The junior has nine points this season, tied for the second most on the team, despite missing the first four games of the year while away with Team USA Lacrosse.

Grace Edvalds, Army West Point, Sr., Forward, Tacoma, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School
*Edvalds scored the game-winning goal in the 11th minute to help Army defeat Lehigh 1-0 on Saturday. It marked the second goal of the season for the senior.

Grace Pohlidal, Army West Point, Fr., Defender, Edina, Minn./Edina
*Playing the full 90 minutes for the 11th time this season, Pohlidal led the Black Knights’ back line to a 1-0 shutout victory against Lehigh on Saturday.

Sage Strohman, Army West Point, Sr., Goalkeeper, La Miranda, Calif./La Miranda
*Strohman made two saves in Army’s 1-0 win over Lehigh and moved into third place all-time in program history for shutouts with the 23rd of her career.
*The senior continues to lead the Patriot League in saves (63) and saves per game (5.25), while ranking fourth in save percentage (.829) and fifth in goals-against average (1.097).

Ari Bezanson, Colgate, Jr., Midfielder, Danvers, Mass./Danvers
*Bezanson tallied the game-tying goal in the 82nd minute in Colgate’s 1-1 draw against Loyola Maryland on Saturday.
*The junior is tied for the Patriot League lead in goals (9), ranks second in points (19), and third in points per game (1.46).

Isabella Romano, Navy, Jr., Forward, Syosset, N.Y./Syosset
*Romano netted the game-tying goal for the Mids in the 36th minute in a 1-1 road draw at Boston University on Saturday.

Natasha Stramrood, Navy, Fr., Goalkeeper, Cypress, Texas/Tomball Memorial
*Stramrood made four saves to help the Mids achieve a 1-1 road draw at Boston University on Saturday afternoon.
*Among the Patriot League rankings, the freshman goalkeeper is second in saves (61), sixth in saves per game (4.07), seventh in save percentage (.744), and eighth in goals-against average (1.703).

Zoe Willis, Loyola Maryland, Jr., Defender, Cary, N.C.
*Willis scored her second goal of the season in Loyola Maryland’s 1-1 draw at Colgate on Saturday. The junior played all 90 minutes for the eighth straight game.

Offensive Player of the Week
8.19 – Kaelan Bradley, Army West Point, Sr., F
8.26 – Alexa Riddle, Navy, Sr., F
9.2 – Baylee DeSmit, Loyola Maryland, Sr., F
9.9 – Lailah Stewart, American, So., F
9.16 – Baylee DeSmit, Loyola Maryland, Sr., F
9.23 – Kaelan Bradley, Army West Point, Sr., F
9.30 – Margy Porta, Boston University, Jr., F
10.7 – Sofia Ruggiero, Lafayette, Jr., F

Midfielder of the Week
8.19 – Giulianna Gianino, Boston University, Jr., M
8.26 – Rylee Rives, Navy, Sr., M
9.2 – Cami Silvestro, Army West Point, Jr., M
9.9 – Izzy Kadzban, American, Gr., M
9.16 – Brigid Duffy, Army West Point, Jr., M
9.23 – Teresa Deda, Bucknell, Sr., M
9.30 – Giulianna Gianino, Boston University, Jr., M
10.7 – Sydney Hess, Bucknell, Jr., M

Defensive Player of the Week
8.19 – Katie Schiano, Bucknell, Sr., D
8.26 – Eliza Fisher, American, Jr., D
9.2 – Keira Vesy, Army West Point, Sr., D
9.9 – Lauren Sanders, American So., D
9.16 – Lauren Stewart, Lafayette, Sr., D
9.23 – Lauren Toms, Navy, Fr., D
9.30 – Lauren Stewart, Lafayette, Sr., D
10.7 – Keira Vesy, Army West Point, Sr., D

Goalkeeper of the Week
8.19 – Sage Strohman, Army West Point, Sr., GK
8.26 – Addison Roemer, American, Fr., GK
9.2 – Addison Roemer, American, Fr., GK
9.9 – Brigid Mulholland, Loyola Maryland, So., GK
9.16 – Catherine Apker, Lafayette, So., GK
9.23 – Julia Walsh, Holy Cross, Sr., GK
9.30 – Catherine Apker, Lafayette, So., GK
10.7 – Jess Benattar, Bucknell, Jr., GK

Rookie of the Week
8.19 – Katie Connell, Bucknell, Fr., M
8.26 – Bella Conti, Army West Point, Fr., F
9.2 – Addison Roemer, American, Fr., GK
9.9 – Katie Connell, Bucknell, Fr., M
9.16 – Renee Wanzor, Loyola Maryland, Fr., D
9.23 – Bella Conti, Army West Point, Fr., M
9.30 – Bella Conti, Army West Point, Fr., M
10.7 – Jaiden Schultz, Boston University, Fr., F

ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes who are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.