Washington State’s Castain, Oregon’s Steele named Pac-12 women’s soccer players of the week

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- WASHINGTON STATE forward Micaela Castain and OREGON goalkeeper Abby Steele were named Pac-12 Women’s Soccer Players of the Week for the week of September 9-September 15, Commissioner Larry Scott announced today. 

Castain, a senior from Castro Valley, Calif., earned Offensive Player of the Week honors after scoring all four of the Cougars’ goals as Washington State went 1-0-1 on the weekend. She had both tallies in the 2-0 home victory over UNLV on Friday and added two more on the road at Oklahoma State Sunday, with the second one tying the game 48 seconds after the Cowboys had taken a 2-1 lead. The 2-2 draw kept the Cougars unbeaten on the season while Castain moved into a tie for third all-time in team history with 30 career goals.  

Steele, a junior from Santa Rosa, Calif., was named Defensive Player of the Week after tallying a season-high eight saves to hold No. 6 BYU scoreless for the first time this season as the Ducks battled to a double-overtime draw. Steele’s 10th-career shutout and second of the season helped Oregon earn its first draw against a top-10 team since tying No. 5 Stanford in 2007. Steele leads all Pac-12 goalkeepers with 36 saves.  

This is the first-career weekly honor for Castain and the 11th overall for Washington State, including the first since September of 2011. This is the second time Steele has earned the Defensive Player of the Week honor, the first coming in the last week of the 2012 season, and the 10th all-time for Oregon.  

Washington State hits the road this weekend for a pair of matches in California, taking on Cal State Fullerton at 6 p.m. PT on Friday and UC Irvine at 2 p.m. PT on Sunday. The Ducks will stay in Eugene for one game this weekend when they host San Francisco Friday at 7 p.m. PT.

Also Nominated for Offense: Kaitlyn Lopez, ARIZ; Cali Farquharson, ASU; Natalie Meiggs, OSU; Taylor Uhl, STAN; Kodi Lavrusky, UCLA; Katie Johnson, USC; Allie Wisner, UTAH; Isabel Farrell, WASH. Also Nominated for Defense: Gabby Kaufman, ARIZ; Kaitlyn Pavlovich, ASU; Sammy Jo Prudhomme, OSU; Abby Dahlkemper, UCLA; Megan Kufeld, WASH; Rachael Doyle, WSU.

2013 Pac-12 Women’s Soccer Players of the Week