Soccer

Five Players from Five Programs Claim Big 12 Soccer Weekly Awards

Iowa State’s Avery Gillahan (goalkeeper), Oklahoma State’s Alex Morris (co-defensive), TCU’s Seven Castain (offensive), Utah’s Katie Callaway (freshman) and West Virginia’s Annika Leslie (co-defensive) earned Week 8’s weekly honors of the 2024 soccer season.

Castain was active in five of the Horned Frogs’ six goals as the team captured its second win over a ranked opponent. During the 6-1 victory over then-No. 14 Colorado, the junior recorded a haul and tallied an assist to earn nine points. The junior is the first to accomplish the feat in a TCU jersey in 26 years and the third player to score four goals in a single match in program history.

Morris and the Cowgirls collected their second win during conference play, winning 3-0 over Kansas. The OSU backline clinched the team’s 11th shutout of the season after holding the Jayhawks to two shots on goal. The senior from Frisco, Texas also dished out her fifth assist of the season, the most from a Cowgirl this year. This week’s honor is her fourth career accolade and the fifth picked up from OSU during the 2024 campaign.

Leslie claims her first Big 12 soccer weekly accolade as the Mountaineers defended their home field with a 1-0 shutout over UCF. WVU held the Knights to four shots on goal on 11 shot attempts. The win was the team’s sixth shutout of the season, extending its unbeaten streak during league play to a 5-0-1 record. Leslie is the second Mountaineer to garner a soccer weekly award this year, following teammate Ajanae Respass last month.

Gillahan grabbed six saves as the Cyclones recorded a scoreless draw with K-State. The draw was the redshirt sophomore’s fifth contest this season with six or more saves, placing her second in the league with 66 on the season. She has four clean sheets this season with three occurring during Big 12 play, the first for the ISU program since 2016. This is the first goalkeeper weekly award for the Strongsville, Ohio native following her two Freshman of the Week honors a season ago.

Callaway earns the Utes’ second Freshman of the Week honor following her three-point performance during the 4-1 win over Arizona State. In her third start of the season, the Woodstock, Georgia native was active in the last two goals of the match as she dished out an assist before scoring her first career goal in the 81st minute.
 
Offensive Player of the Week
Seven Castain, TCU, Jr, F
 
Defensive Players of the Week
Alex Morris, Oklahoma State, Sr., D
Annika Leslie, West Virginia, Sr., D
 
Goalkeeper of the Week
Avery Gillahan, Iowa State, R-So.
 
Freshman of the Week
Katie Callaway, Utah, Fr., M