Two weeks into the fall season, two Texas A&M soccer standouts have received Southeastern Conference honors.
Sophomore midfielder Barbara Olivieri and freshman defender Mia Pante each earned their first official SEC recognition of the year, claiming the titles of SEC Offensive Player of the Week and SEC Freshman of the Week, respectively. Both designations come after the maroon and white’s toppling of No. 9 Clemson, this week’s only top-10 victory by an SEC squad.
Olivieri, last season’s SEC Freshman of the Year and two-time SEC Freshman of the Week, kicked off this year’s accolades by asserting offensive dominance over the Tigers in the form of a game-winning goal in the 64th minute. The midfielder extended her push with an assist on A&M’s dagger in the 80th minute.
Pante, playing the fewest minutes of any starter in Saturday’s home matchup, still had plenty of time to make her mark, scoring her first collegiate goal as an Aggie in the 18th minute before turning around and lending an assist to Olivieri not long after.
With two home games scheduled over the next week for the Aggies, the pair of young playmakers now have a set standard to constantly strive for.