June 11, 2026
OKLAHOMA CITY (June 11, 2026) - A stoppage-time game winner, defensive shutout, and downing one of the top teams in the region all fueled the WPSL’s National Players of the Week selection from Week Five presented by Global Scarves.
University of Akron sophomore Reece Paget (FC Monmouth) delivered a hat trick, including two stoppage-time goals, in a dramatic 5-3 comeback victory to secure National Offensive Player of the Week.
Guilford College’s Ainsley Yates captured National Defensive Player of the Week after leading Carolina FC to a 4-0 shutout while also contributing to two of the four goals scored and Arizona State sophomore Kennedy Zorn tabbed National Goalkeeper of the Week off two clean sheets and helping SC del Sol down the number-one-ranked team in the region.
On the heels of two losses earlier in the week, including a heartbreak loss in a 5-4 barnburner against Fever SC, FC Monmouth was in search of a momentum shift to turn its season around heading into its final of three-Week Five matches. Its answer came in University of Akron sophomore Reece Paget, whose hat trick propelled Monmouth to its first win of 2026.
Traveling to Delaware to face the Ospreys, Monmouth conceded a goal in the 31st minute that looked to hold going into halftime. Paget flipped the script and tabbed the equalizer in the 43th minute, giving Monmouth momentum at the break with the scoreline level. This fueled the team at the start of the second half and Monmouth took the lead in the 49th.
After the Ospreys responded with two goals ten minutes later to make it 3-2, Monmouth pulled another back in the 78th to level the score once more. But Paget wasn’t done,—going into stoppage time locked 3-3, she pulled two back at the 90th and 90+4 to win the game in dominant fashion.
Ainsley Yates was named National Defensive Player of the Week after leading Carolina FC to its second win of the season following a 4-0 victory over NCFC Grey in the first of the club’s three matches in Week Five. The Guilford College junior scored from 25 yards out and added an assist, contributing to two of the four goals scored in the shutout.
“Ainsley set the tone for us defensively from the opening whistle,” Matt Livingston, Carolina FC general manager, said. “Her positioning, anticipation, and ability to break up play were exceptional, and she consistently put herself in the right spots to eliminate danger before it developed.”
Yates’ impact was felt on both sides of the field, though it was unfortunately cut short due to an ACL injury. The win moved Carolina FC to 2-0-0 and momentum heading into its following two games still ahead that week.
SC del Sol’s Week Five slate featured two big games, including the return match of then-No.1 ranked team in the West Region Royals AZ, to which del Sol fell to in the closing minutes the week before. Kennedy stepped up to the pressure, recording 180 minutes while making 12 combined saves to earn two clean sheets and National Goalkeeper of the Week.
The Arizona State sophomore’s performance in goal moved SC del Sol to its first two shutouts of the season, blanking the top ranked team on eight saves, and a 4-0-1 record to sit tied at the top of the Desert Division table with five games in hand.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
Offensive
Defensive
Goalkeeper
