There have been 51 hat tricks in PacWest women's soccer history, but never three in the same day. That happened on Saturday when Hawai'i Hilo's Megan Donovan and Jazlynn Ellis accomplished the feat, along with Westmont's Amelia Villa. They are the Players of the Week. Westmont's Shayna Stock led her team's defense to a stunning 4-0 win over Fresno Pacific to gain Defender of the Week status and Concordia University Irvine blanked Academy of Art 6-0 to gain Team of the Week.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Hawai'i Hilo's Megan Donovan, F, 5-7, Sr., Encinitas, Calif.            Â
Sure, Megan Donovan scored three times during an 8-1 win over HPU last Saturday, but she also shared the wealth with two assists. That gave her eight points for the match, the third highest total in PacWest history, sharing that rung with nine other players. The fifth-year senior and fourth-year Vulcan tied a Hawai'i Hilo school record with the eight points and now has 14 points on the season. The southern California native needed just 49 minutes and four shots to accomplish the rare feat.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Hawai'i Hilo's Jazlynn Ellis, D-F, 5-9, Jr., Parker, Colo.                  Â
Jazlynn Ellis, a first-year Vulcan and a transfer from Illinois Chicago, scored three times in Hawai'i Hilo's 8-1 win over HPU. Ellis pocketed Hilo's second and third goals of the day in the 20th and 22nd minute and added a third early in the second half (59th minute). The Colorado native played just 43 minutes in the match. Ellis now has six goals and four assists in nine matches this year for 16 points, second in the conference.
CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Westmont's Amelia Villa, MF, 5-3, Soph., Solvang, Calif.                Â
Westmont's Amelia Villa had just one goal on the season prior to Saturday's 4-0 win over Fresno Pacific. In fact, the match-up between the Warriors and Sunbirds was scoreless at the half before Villa went to work. The sophomore scored on a header in the 55th minute for her first goal. In the 69th minute, she fired a shot in from the top of the box and completed the hat trick in the 79th on a shot from the corner, 18 yards out. Villa took just six shots on the day, depositing half of them into the net.
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK: Westmont's Shayna Stock, D, 5-6, Jr., Redondo Beach, Calif.                     Â
Westmont improved to 2-0 in PacWest play with a 4-0 win over Fresno Pacific, shutting out the Sunbirds in part because of Shayna Stock's play in the back. The third-year starter for the Warriors has helped lead a defense that has given up just one goal in its last four matches as Westmont has improved to 4-1-3 overall in their first year in the conference. Stock was a First Team All-GSAC pick as a freshman in 2021. "Shayna is a team captain who leads with her play on the field," said Warrior head coach Jenny Jaggard. "She is a very quality one-on-one defender and attacker and is a very difficult player to beat in our back line. She is an intelligent player that helps keep our team organized and also contributes to many set pieces. She has been very consistently good this season."
TEAM OF THE WEEK: Concordia University Irvine Golden Eagles                                                        Â
The Concordia University Irvine Golden Eagles are the Team of the Week after taking out Academy of Art on Saturday, 6-0 and Dominican on Monday, 1-0. Those were the eighth and ninth consecutive shutouts for the Golden Eagles, who have now outscored their opponents 21-1 this season. The only score given up this season was in the opening match of the year against Cal State Los Angeles. Offensively, Antonella Russo had two scores against the Urban Knights, while Val Cortez scored the winner in the victory over the Penguins. Goalkeeper Riley Urquiza needed to make just one save in the two matches.
PACWEST NEWS AND NOTES: In today's United Soccer Coaches Association Division II poll, Hawai'i Hilo moved up to No. 5 and Concordia stayed at No. 12. The only other west region team in the poll is Seattle Pacific at No. 24 ... In a packed conference race, Hawai'i Hilo and Concordia share the top spot at 4-0 with Chaminade at 3-0, Westmont 2-0 and Point Loma and Azusa Pacific a slot back at 2-1 ... In Fresno Pacific's loss to Westmont, Sunbird keeper Monique Neverez had 12 saves ... Almost lost in Hawai'i Hilo's onslaught of HPU was Teani Arakawa's two goals and an assist. Arakawa leads the PacWest in all three scoring categories with nine goals, five assists and 23 points ... Point Loma blanked Biola 2-0 to improve to 6-2-1 on the season. The Sea Lions received goals from Nicki Friedman and Alana Diaz ... Azusa Pacific won a hard-fought match against Dominican, 2-1 to move.500 in PacWest play and overall (4-4-2). Bethany Tee had both scores for the Cougars. Yesterday (Monday), APU moved to the winning side of the ledger with a 7-0 win over Academy of Art. Aubrey Dunaway scored twice for Azusa.
LOOKING AHEAD: This week's schedule actually began yesterday (Monday) with the 1-0 CUI win over Dominican match and Azusa Pacific's 7-0 victory at Academy of Art. On Thursday, Chaminade will play HPU. On Saturday, Fresno Pacific is at Academy of Art and Azusa Pacific is at Westmont, and on Monday Point Loma travels to Chaminade and Biola is at Hawai'i Hilo.
