General 9/30/2024 2:30:00 PM United East Athletes of the Week - September 30, 2024 LATHAM, N.Y. - The United East conference has announced its Athletes of the Week for September 30, 2024. Today will include Athletes of the Week for Field Hockey, Men’s Soccer, Women’s Soccer, and Women’s Volleyball. This week’s selections included contests from Monday, September 23 through Sunday, September 29. A total of 8 student-athletes were recognized for their performances. Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Week Natalie Rocuskie / Gr / Penn State Harrisburg / Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Cedar Cliff HS / UMass Lowell / Wagner College Natalie Rocuskie scored twice in Penn State Harrisburg's come-from-behind victory on Friday afternoon, Sept. 27. With the Lions trailing King's (Pa.) 2-0 in the second half, the graduate student started the team's comeback with a goal in the third quarter. Penn State Harrisburg tied it up in the fourth and the game eventually went to double overtime. In the second extra session, Rocuskie converted a breakaway opportunity and scored the game-winning goal in the 73rd minute. The goals were her fourth and fifth of the season. This is the first Player of the Week award for Rocuskie. Defensive Player of the Week Shelby Heater / So. / Cedar Crest College / Lehighton, Pa. / Lehighton Area HS Heater tallied 23 total saves in a 1-1 week for the Falcons. She picked up eight saves in a 2-0 shutout of Wilkes University and then converted 15 saves in a 2-0 loss to Hood. This is the second Player of the Week award for Heater, who previously won for the week of September 9, 2024. Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week Sebastian Londono / So / Saint Elizabeth University / Hackensack, N.J. / Bergen Catholic In a 2-0 week, Londono tallied five goals on the week, which included a hat trick on Wednesday, 9/25, vs Hunter College. Two additional goals came on Saturday to open conference play vs. Penn State Brandywine on the road. Both goals from Londono on Saturday helped the Eagles come from behind to both tie the game, and ultimately give the Eagles the road win vs. Brandywine to open United East play for the 2024 season. This is the second Player of the Week award for Londono who previously won for the week of September 25, 2023. During his 2023 debut season, Londono was named United East Rookie of the Year - Skye Division, named First Team All-Conference, and finished the 2023 season with 22 goals: good for 4th in all of NCAA Division III. Defensive Player of the Week Alex Afata / Sr / Penn State Harrisburg / Manchester, Pa. / Northeastern HS Alex Afata had another strong week on the Penn State Harrisburg back line, helping lead the Lions to a pair of shutout victories. In a 2-0 win over regionally ranked Lycoming the defender helped limit the Warriors to just three shots on goal. In a 7-0 victory at Keystone on Sunday, the senior helped hold the Giants to a single shot on target while also scoring a goal and adding an assist. This is the second Player of the Week award for Afata, who previously won the award for the week of September 2, 2024. Afata earned a spot on the Volt Division All-Conference Second Team in 2023. Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week Laila Kendle / Sr / Saint Elizabeth University / Neptune, NJ / Neptune HS It was a short week for the Eagles, but a heavy week for Kendle, as she was able to score four goals in the Eagles lone victory over Penn State Brandywine to open conference play. Two of those goals would help Kendle break two program records; the first goal breaking the record for most goals in a single season, and her second goal would break the program record for most points scored in a single season. Kendle currently leads NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer in Goals (17), Points per Game (4.50), and Total Points (36). This is the second Player of the Week award for Kendle who has previously earned the award for September 9, 2024. Kendle previously earned Second Team All-Conference awards for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Defensive Player of the Week Ashlyn Bonner / Jr / St. Mary’s College of Maryland / Ellicott City, Md. / Wilde Lake HS Ashlyn Bonner continued her strong junior campaign with two assists and contributed to a pair of shutouts, including a conference-opening victory. Bonner started midweek by assisting on the game-winning goal in a 1-0 road win over Marymount (Va.) while helping to hold the Saints to just one shot on goal (9 total). She then assisted on St. Mary's College's third goal as the Seahawks opened conference action with a 3-0 road win over Wilson. Bonner also was part of a defensive unit that limited Wilson to five shots (four on goal) for the game. This is the second Player of the Week award for Bonner who previously won for the week of September 9, 2024. Bonner earned a Second Team All-Conference award in 2022. Women’s Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week Brielle Worley / So / Gallaudet University / Amarillo, Tx. / Amarillo HS / UT-Tyler / University of North Texas Worley had a massive week for the Bison tallying 96 kills in five matches as Gallaudet posted a perfect 5-0 record on the week. On the weekend, Gallaudet hosted the Worthington Classic and had a perfect 4-0 record while only dropping one set. Worley was named MVP of the Worthington Classic after posting a hitting percentage of .362 (96 K-19 E-213 TA; .362 pct) and added 36 digs, seven blocks, and six aces. Worley had 16 or more kills in every match last week with kill totals of 17, 20, 21, 22 in the four matches in the Worthington Classic. Across the country, Worley currently is in the Top 10 of multiple statistical categories within NCAA Division III including Total Points (1st; 361.0), Total Kills (1st; 324), Kills per Set (2nd: 4.76), Total Attacks (5th; 753), and Points per Set (7th; 5.31). This is the third Player of the Week award for Worley, who previously won for the week of September 9 and September 16. Defensive Player of the Week Jada Zarembka / So / Gallaudet University / Riverside, Ca / California School for the Deaf - Riverside Zarembka was a beast upfront for Gallaudet University last week as she finished the week with 25 blocks in five matches. The sophomore middle blocker had a career game with 13 blocks (three solo) against The Catholic University of America. During the four-match Worthington Classic tournament that GU hosted, Zarembka tallied 23 blocks total with five blocks (two solo) coming on Friday evening against University of Lynchburg. Zarembka leads the United East with 59 total blocks this season: good for 21st in the country. This is the first Player of the Week award for Zarembka FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram - gounitedeast | Twitter - @GoUnitedEast * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The United East boasts 17 NCAA Division III full member institutions which include: Bryn Athyn College, Cairn University, Cedar Crest College, Gallaudet University, Keystone College, Lancaster Bible College, Notre Dame of Maryland University, Penn College, Penn State Abington, Penn State Berks, Penn State Brandywine, Penn State Harrisburg, Rosemont College, Saint Elizabeth University, St. Mary's College of Maryland, University of Valley Forge, and Wilson College. For more information, please visit gounitedeast.com.