Megan Kerns is SEC Offensive Soccer Player of the Week; Also Named to Two National Teams of the Week
Monday, October 20, 2008 | Soccer
University of Florida senior Megan Kerns (Ames, Iowa/Ames H.S.) is the Southeastern Conference Offensive Soccer Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday afternoon. This is Kerns' first such honor and she is the second Gator to be named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week this season, as freshman Lindsay Thompson earned the honor on Oct. 6. She also was named to both the TopDrawerSoccer.com and SoccerBuzz.com Elite National Teams of the Week. Kerns is the third Gator named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week this season, joining junior goalkeeper Katie Fraine (Sept. 8) and senior midfielder Ameera Abdullah (Sept. 29) as other 2008 UF honorees. This is her second appearance on the SoccerBuzz.com Elite Team of the Week this season, as she was part of the Sept. 30 team and this is the third such honor for UF as Fraine was part of the Sept. 9 team.
Kerns led Florida Sunday with her first collegiate hat-trick in UF's 6-1 win at Alabama. The three goals marked her third multi-goal match of the season and moved her into sole possession of UF's season goals (9) and points (24) lead. She is the 10th Gator in the program's history to turn in three or more goals in a single match.
| TopDrawerSoccer.com Players of the Week for Oct. 13-19 | ||
| Name | Pos. | School |
| Julie Hanley | GK | Kansas |
| Alyssa Naeher | GK | Penn State |
| Erin Hardy | D | UCLA |
| Brittany Bock | MF | Notre Dame |
| Paige Maxwell | MF | Ohio State |
| Kelly Waeckerle | MF | St. Louis |
| Megan Kerns | F | Florida |
| Blake Miller | F | West Virginia |
| Casey Nogueira | F | North Carolina |
| Kelley O'Hara | F | Stanford |
| Sanna Talonen | F | Florida State |
| SoccerBuzz.com Elite Team of the Week for Oct. 13-19 | ||
| Amber Campbell | GK | East Carolina |
| Greer Barnes | D | West Virginia |
| Dea Cook | D | UCLA |
| Nicole Doran | D | St. John's |
| Greer Barnes | MF | BYU |
| Jennifer Kritch | MF | Pittsburgh |
| Malorie Rutledge | MF | LSU |
| Ashley Hamblin | F | Missouri |
| Megan Kerns | F | Florida |
| Shannon McCabe | F | Kansas |
| Tiffany McCarty | F | Florida State |
| Casey Nogueira | F | North Carolina |
| Laurie Nosbusch | F | Wisconsin |
| Kelley O'Hara | F | Stanford |
| Katie Schopefer | F | Penn State |
| Southeastern Conference Players of the Week | ||
| Megan Kerns | Offensive | Florida |
| Michelle Betos | Defensive | Georgia |
| Katy Frierson | Freshman | Auburn |
For the match, Kerns tallied eight points of off three goals and two assists, pushing her collegiate points total to 51 (18 goals, 15 assists). She is the 15th Gator in the program's 14-year history to pass the 50-points mark.
Next up, Florida returns home to play host to SEC Western Division rival Arkansas for the Oct. 23 regular-season home finale. Match time is set for 7 p.m. (ET) at the James G. Pressly Stadium. Arkansas is led this season by senior Lindsay Patterson with 15 points off of six goals and three assists. Arkansas opened league play with a pair of wins versus Mississippi (2-0) and Mississippi State (1-0) before losing the next four – at Georgia (2-1 2OT), at Tennessee (2-0), versus Alabama (3-1) and versus Auburn (2-1). The Razorbacks broke the losing streak last weekend with wins versus Kentucky (3-1) and Vanderbilt (2-1).
The first 500 fans Thursday receive Publix reusable shopping bags. Gainesville Regional Utilities will be on hand Thursday to provide energy saving tips. The first 250 to the match who bring in apparel with another team's logo to “recycle” will receive a free Gator Soccer morph ball, compliments of GRU. SUN Sports will air Thursday's match live. The match can also be heard live on WRUF AM 850 or on the simulcasts on Gator Radio - Cox Channel 96/946 in Gainesville and GatorZone.com with Ryan Collins covering the action. Admission is free for all Gator soccer regular-season matches.
