ORU’s Mira and LaCourse, UNO’s da Silva Receive Weekly Men’s Soccer Awards
ORU’s Mira and LaCourse, UNO’s da Silva Receive Weekly Men’s Soccer Awards
ELMHURST, Ill. – Oral Roberts' Edgardo Mira was named Summit League Offensive Player of the Week and ORU's Ben LaCourse and Omaha's Felipe da Silva received the league's Defensive Players of the Week accolades for performances Sept. 23-29.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Edgardo Mira, Oral Roberts
R-Fr. // MF // San Salvador, El Salvador
Mira earned his first career award after recording a pair of clutch goals in Oral Roberts' two victories during the week. He scored the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Missouri State, ranked No. 7 in the NSCAA Midwest Regional rankings. The win was ORU's first against the Bears since 2007. In The Summit League opener against Fort Wayne, Mira's goal tied the match with three seconds remaining and sent the game into overtime, where the Golden Eagles prevailed 2-1. For the week, Mira totaled four points and scored on two of his three shots on goal.
Also nominated: Zach Bolden, Denver; Will Butler, Eastern Illinois; Jose Rodriguez, Fort Wayne; Ian Block, IUPUI; Vance Rookwood, Omaha.
Previous recipients: 9/3 – Diego Lopez, Western Illinois; 9/9 – Vance Rookwood, Omaha; 9/16 – Chava Garcia, Omaha; 9/23 – Garet Christianson, Eastern Illinois
DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Ben LaCourse, Oral Roberts
Fr. // GK // Tulsa, Okla.
LaCourse received his first career award after collecting a pair of victories during the week. He made four saves and recorded the shutout in a 1-0 win over Missouri State, ranked No. 7 in the NSCAA Midwest Regional rankings, to give Oral Roberts its first win against the Bears since 2007. In The Summit League opener against Fort Wayne, LaCourse made seven saves in 91 minutes as ORU completed its 2-1 comeback victory in overtime. For the week, LaCourse posted a 2-0 record, a 0.50 goals against average and 11 saves with a .917 save percentage.
Felipe da Silva, Omaha
Jr. // D // Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
da Silva garnered his first career award after playing all 200 minutes and leading the Omaha defensive effort during an unbeaten week. In a 1-1 draw against Kansas City, da Silva led a Maverick defense that yielded just two shots on goal. In The Summit League opener against defending tournament champion Western Illinois, da Silva and the UNO defense allowed four shots on goal in a 2-1 triumph. da Silva was also involved in the attack against WIU, producing three shots, including two on goal.
Also nominated: Reagan Dunk, Denver; Raphael Kotzock, Fort Wayne; Christian Lomeli, IUPUI.
Previous recipients: 9/3 – Eduardo Cortes, IUPUI; 9/9 – Matt Grosey, Omaha; 9/16 – Theodor Remman, Denver; 9/23 – Theodor Remman, Denver
ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
In its fourth decade of Division I athletics, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 120,000 at eight institutions, including three located in top 60 U.S. metro populations and two land-grant universities. Member institutions include: Denver (University of Denver), Fort Wayne (Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), North Dakota State University, Omaha (University of Nebraska Omaha), the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University and Western Illinois University. Previously known as the Mid-Continent Conference, The Summit League rebranded in 2007 and has since produced eight NCAA Champions, 62 All-Americans and 50 Academic All-America selections.
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