DALLAS – FIU’s Nikole Solis, along with Liberty’s Rebekah Earnest and Ainsley Leja earned Conference USA Women’s Soccer Player of the Week honors, presented by Blenders Eyewear.
 
Solis notched a hat trick in a 4-0 win over Jacksonville as the Panthers split last week’s contests to move to 3-1 on the season.
 
Earnest and Leja combined to post a pair of shutouts, helping the Lady Flames extend their unbeaten streak to 17 matches and extend their program-best season start to 4-0.
 
Offensive Player of the Week – Nikole Solis, FIU – Junior – Boca Raton, Fla.
Nearly a year to the date after recording her first career hat trick (Aug. 28, 2022), Solis paced FIU to a 4-0 victory over Jacksonville with a trio of scores on Friday. She gave the Panthers a 2-0 cushion at the break with a pair of first-half penalty kick goals and added a third in the 52^nd minute after finishing off a cross from Catherine Rapp. Through the opening two weeks of the season, Solis leads the league and ranks in the top-five nationally in goals (six) and points (13).
 
Defensive Player of the Week – Rebekah Earnest, Liberty – Graduate – Reading, Pa.
Earnest logged all 180 minutes on the back line in Liberty’s 2-0 decision over Tennessee Tech and 3-0 win versus UNC Wilmington. The Lady Flames surrendered just six shots and three on frame across both contests. After Tennessee Tech placed a pair of shots on goal in the first half of Friday’s contest, Earnest and her back-line mates didn’t allow another attempt until the second half of Sunday’s match against UNC Wilmington.
 
Goalkeeper of the Week – Ainsley Leja, Liberty – Junior – Rockford, Mich.
Leja stopped all three attempts on goal in the team’s victories last week, extending her scoreless streak in goal to 349:16. She made a pair of early saves against Tennessee Tech and kept the match scoreless until the offense found the back of the net in the 69^th minute. Leja leads CUSA and ranks 24^th in the country in goals-against average (.250). She is unbeaten in the last 17 matches and has allowed just six goals in that span.
 
2023 CUSA Offensive Players of the Week
A22      Camryn Davis, Jax State
A29      Nikole Solis, FIU
 
2023 CUSA Defensive Players of the Week
A22      Caroline Manley, MTSU
A29      Rebekah Earnest, Liberty
 
2023 CUSA Goalkeepers of the Week
A22      Ainsley Leja, Liberty
A29      Ainsley Leja, Liberty