ROSEMONT, Ill. - Michigan State freshman midfielder Kaleigh McPherson was named the Big Ten Women's Soccer Freshman of the Week, as announced by the conference Tuesday afternoon.
McPherson is the first Spartan to win Freshman of the Week honors this season and third Spartan overall to collect a conference weekly award, joining graduate midfielder Justina Gaynor (Defensive, Aug. 20) and graduate goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks (Goalkeeper, Sept. 24 and Oct. 22). She is the first MSU player to be named Freshman of the Week since current sophomore Bella Najera on Oct. 24 last season.
The St. Charles, Missouri native scored the game-winning goal in MSU's 3-1 win over Purdue to conclude the regular season on Oct. 27. The goal was her first in the Green and White. Playing all 90 minutes as a defensive midfielder, McPherson also helped hold the Boilermakers to just five shots on goal.
McPherson has played in all 18 games for the Spartans this season and has started in MSU's last 10 games. She was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Top 100 Freshmen list earlier this season.
The Spartans have earned a No. 4 seed in this year's Big Ten Tournament and face fifth-seeded Rutgers on Saturday, Nov. 2 in the tournament quarterfinals. The University of Minnesota will host the first round and quarterfinal matches, while the semifinals and championship are scheduled for Nov. 7 and Nov. 10, respectively, at CITYPARK in St. Louis.
Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.
