DALLAS – For the second time this season, Liberty swept the league’s weekly awards as Ava Goodman, Lena James and Ainsley Leja earned Conference USA Women’s Soccer Player of the Week honors, presented by Blenders Eyewear.
 
Goodman earned Offensive Player of the Week honors after she logged gamewinning goals in each of last week’s wins – a 1-0 triumph over MTSU and a 6-0 drubbing of Sam Houston – to secure the Lady Flames’ (12-0, 2-0 CUSA) first CUSA victories.
 
James becomes the fourth Lady Flame to be awarded Defensive Player of the Week, while Leja garners her fourth Goalkeeper of the Week title in six weeks. The duo led Liberty to a pair of shutout performances, bringing their season total to eight, which is tied for the Division I lead.
 
Offensive Player of the Week – Ava Goodman, Liberty – Sophomore – Pottsville, Pa.
Just 52 seconds after Leja made a crucial save on a point-blank chance for MTSU, Goodman delivered the game-winning goal after taking a misplayed ball by the Blue Raider defense, dribbling around the keeper and depositing a shot into the back of the net. Goodman led a tenacious Lady Flame attack with five shots and three shots on goal in the contest. On Sunday, she got the scoring underway in the fourth minute as she finished off a ball that ricocheted to her on a corner kick. Goodman has logged all four of her goals this season in the last seven matches.
 
Defensive Player of the Week – Lena James, Liberty – Senior – Brownsburg, Ind.
James logged 160 minutes for a Lady Flame defense that allowed just 15 shots and posted two shutout victories, extending the team’s streak to four matches without surrendering a goal. In a gritty 1-0 victory over MTSU, she helped the team limit the Blue Raiders to three shots on goal on eight total attempts. James picked up her second assist of the year in the win over Sam Houston after her free kick attempt banged off the post directly to Saydie Holland, who put it in the back of the net for the first of her two goals in the match.
 
Goalkeeper of the Week – Ainsley Leja, Liberty – Junior – Rockford, Mich.
Leja once again established her dominance in net for the Lady Flames, stopping seven shots across the team’s wins last week and posting her third- and fourth-straight clean sheets. On Thursday versus MTSU, she came up with the biggest play of the match when she stopped a point-blank shot from Faith Adje in the 55^th minute to keep the game scoreless until Goodman scored less than a minute later. Leja added four saves in Sunday’s victory over Sam Houston. She now has eight shutouts this season, which is tied for the Division I lead.
 
2023 CUSA Offensive Players of the Week
A22      Camryn Davis, Jax State
A29      Nikole Solis, FIU
S5        Allison Hansford, Liberty
S12      Kennedy Baquero, Sam Houston
S19      Katie Erwin, WKU
S26      Ava Goodman, Liberty
 
2023 CUSA Defensive Players of the Week
A22      Caroline Manley, MTSU
A29      Rebekah Earnest, Liberty
S5        Saydie Holland, Liberty
S12      Elise Graf, Liberty
S19      Andrea Nugent, Sam Houston
S26      Lena James, Liberty
 
2023 CUSA Goalkeepers of the Week
A22      Ainsley Leja, Liberty
A29      Ainsley Leja, Liberty
S5        Ainsley Leja, Liberty
S12      Ithaisa Vinoly, FIU
S19      Savannah Hall, Sam Houston
S26      Ainsley Leja, Liberty