Photo: Dylan Ribott
By Brian Maurer
Week 1 of Women’s College Soccer is wrapped up and several freshman made names for themselves. Also, top teams like Notre Dame got off to shaky starts, while a 2025 College Cup participant showed they could be up for the challenge of repeating.
Here is our team and players of Week 1:
Team of the WEek
Duke
The Duke Blue Devils had a tough West Coast road trip to begin the season. They were able to get the win against Southern California and then earned a draw against No. 9 UCLA. Both teams were either ranked or received ranking votes and Duke was able travel across the country and earn four points. A solid start to the season. They now return home to host FIU and Rhode Island.
Offensive Player of the Week
Amelia Severn – Junior – Midfielder – Gonzaga
The junior midfielder got her 2026 off to a flying start scoring four goals and providing an assist as Gonzaga won their opener 5-1 hosting South Florida. Severn had another four shots against Oregon but was not able to get the finish as they fell 3-0.
Defensive Player of the Week
Hope Munson – Sophomore – Wingback – North Carolina
Hope Munson (pictured above) had the opportunity to play extremely high on the right hand side for North Carolina as the Tar Heels were in full control and the defender was able to take full advantage with five goal contributions (3g/2a). The competition gets far stiffer for Munson and UNC as they take on two top 10 teams in Arkansas and Michigan State this week.
Goalkeeper of the Week
Peyton Hull – R-Junior – Samford
Peyton Hull and Samford shook up the rankings by traveling to No. 2 Notre Dame and getting a shutout and a 0-0 draw. Hull followed up that standout eight save performance with a three save clean sheet against Belmont.
Freshman of the Week
Campbell Wilson – Midfielder/Forward – Boise State
Campbell Wilson has had about as good a start to her college career as you could ask for as she has had back-to-back games with at least a goal and an assist and has five goal contributions (3g/2a) through her first two college games. A Texas road trip this week will be a good test for Wilson as she looks to keep building early momentum.
