Cooper Named Pac-12's Soccer Defensive Player Of The Week
BOULDER – University of Colorado senior Tori Cooper was named the Pac-12 Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week the league office announced on Monday.
Cooper, a Torrance, Calif. native was recognized by the Pac-12 for her performances in the Buffaloes’ matches against No. 23 USC and No. 1 UCLA. She anchored a CU defense that limited the Trojans and Bruins to a combined seven shots on goal.
On Friday, Oct. 3, Cooper helped the Buffaloes record their seventh shutout of the season in their 1-0 upset win over the 23rd-ranked Trojans in Los Angeles. The USC offense was held to only four shots on goal as the Buffs defeated the Trojans for a third straight time and earned their first Pac-12 Conference victory of the season.
The CU forward followed up Friday’s match with another stellar performance on Sunday, Oct. 5. She played a significant role in the defensive attack that kept the top-ranked Bruins scoreless until the 64th minute and helped hold the Bruins to a season-low three shots on goal as the Buffs fell 1-0 in a tough match against the defending national champions.
This is Cooper’s first conference Defensive Player of the Week honor of her career. It is also the first weekly Pac-12 honor for CU this season and fourth overall since joining the conference in 2011.
Colorado (8-4, 1-2 Pac-12) continues its stretch of five straight road matches when the team travels to Corvallis, Ore. to face the Oregon State Beavers on Friday, Oct. 10 and then concludes the weekend against Oregon on Sunday, Oct. 12.