June 4, 2026
OKLAHOMA CITY (June 4, 2026) — The Women’s Premier Soccer League selects regional Players of the Week from Week Four performances. Eleven players from Minnesota, Ohio, Arkansas, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Virginia earn the weekly recognition. Resumes from this week's honorees tabbed with over 15 goals, two game-winners, a last-seconds equalizer, six shutouts, first wins, WPSL debuts and wins over longstand rivals. The WPSL’s Player of the Week awards are presented by Global Scarves, the exclusive personalized merchandise partner of the Women’s Premier Soccer League.
Forward Jessica Lee earned regional recognition after leading MN Bliss FC to double wins as it opened its 2026 season hosting Mankato United Soccer Club and Manitou F.C. The recently-announced University of St. Thomas commit finished the weekend with three goals and an assist. Lee created double-digital changes for MN Bliss’ offense while contributing to four the six goals scored on the weekend, earning her Central Region’s Offensive Player of the Week.
Lee assisted on the opening goal against Mankato in the 5th minute before the visiting side equalized in the 16th. Taking the game level into halftime, Lee tallied a goal of her own in the 64th which sealed the 2-1 win.
With just a day of rest in between, MN Bliss hosted Manitou F.C. on Sunday to close out its double-home match opening weekend. Lee doubled Bliss’s lead in the second half by converting a penalty in the 77th before adding a second in the 89th to all but guarantee the 3-0 win.
Columbus Eagles veteran Nikki Cox is no stranger to player of the week honors, winning Offensive POTW in the 2025 season for her Week Two performance.
In the Eagle’s third game this season, Cox led Columbus to a dominating win over expansion side Michigan Rangers, contributing to four of the eight goals scored in the win while finding her form from last season. Just three weeks post-birth of her second child, the Bowling Green 2022 graduate, recorded 45 minutes of play and tallied three goals and an assist in the win.
With a 2-0 cushion in the first half, Cox added a hat trick in under 20 minutes to take the Eagles into half up 5-0. Cox secures East Region Offensive Player of the Week and now leads Columbus in goals while on pace to beat her nine goals from 2025 with five games left on the schedule.
Samford University junior Sam De Luca led the Rangers to an explosive Week Four performance with two huge wins at home, outscoring its opponents 17-1. The Little Rock native recorded 115 minutes of play on the week while contributing to five of the Rangers 17 goals scored.
De Luca collected a hat trick and an assist in Little Rock’s midweek clash with Hattiesburg FC before leading the Rangers to an upset victory over reigning conference champion and South Region runnerup, LA Krewe Rush, earning her South Region Offensive Player of the Week.
De Luca leads the Ranger’s offensive in scoring with six total goals scored and keeps Little Rock undefeated after three games, proving she's a real threat with each touch on the ball.
After coming off a late-minute loss in its season opener, Beach Futbol Club felt the winning side of that curtain call just two days later, topping Southern California Eagles 2-1 win to go 1-1 in Week Four thanks to UC Davis incoming freshman Kaya Herndon.
Down 1-0 in the 86th minute with an 0-2 start to 2026 becoming a possibility, Herndon responded with two goals in three minutes to save Beach from its second defeat and salvage their opening weekend. The Torrance native wins West Region Offensive Player of the Week off a performance Beach Futbol Club Head Coach Cheyenne Spade called “the most heroic thing [I] have seen in soccer in 15 years.”
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Boston College sophomore Amalia Day earns player of the week recognition again after being named National Defensive Player of the Week in Week Two.
During Week Four, Dray led Chicago House to double wins against the two of the top teams in the conference, including reigning division champions who they've yet to defeat before this season. Dray recorded 80 minutes of play and helped secure the shutout while also contributing offensively.
Dray connected on two headers from corner kicks in the second half to put Chicago ahead 3-0 before netting a free kick. Dray’s contributions on both sides of the ball helped Chicago House AC to its best start in the WPSL while outscoring opponents 7-1; vaulting the club into a tie at the top of the conference table.
In its third game of its debut WPSL season, Kensington Soccer Club faced another tough contest in the Mid-Atlantic’s Colonial Division in Week Four, looking for its first win. High School senior and Montclair State commit Natalie Ceccanecchio secured the draw for Kensington with the equalizer in the final minutes of the match.
Despite an early lead in the first half, Kensington went down 2-0 after the 64th minute and sights on its first win began to slip away. With the ball played to the center, outside of the 18, Ceccanecchio drilled a one touch with her left that proved too much force for the keeper and reached the top right off deflection to equalize and secure the 2-2 draw on the road.
Virginia Tech sophomore Amelie D’Agnillo led Arlington SA to back-to-back wins to open its 2026 season while recording 130 minutes of play and keeping opponents scoreless for over 100 combined minutes. D’Agnillo made four crucial defensive stops to protect the net to earn South Region Defensive Player of the Week.
“Ame was cool, calm and collected in back to back games with less than 24 hours rest,” Jenny Yu Reimer, Arlington SA director of operations and staff coach, said. “She controlled and organized our backline to keep our goalies from having to make multiple saves and distributed cleanly when she won the ball. She was the calm presence we needed for both games.”
Sydney Grundland-Lanuza earns West Region Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Nighthawks to a shutout home opener to kick off its 2026 season. The University of Seattle grad student became an absolute wall on the backline, preventing any momentum down the middle and developed the Nighthawks attack while organizing from the back.
“Sydney was the engine and the engineer for the entire game, nothing got through the middle as she organized the defense and directed the offense,” Jill Lounsbury, San Francisco Nighthawks general manager, said. “It was a masterclass on how to play the Defensive Mid position.’
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Only one nomination was submitted for the Central Region and that player earned National GK recognition.
Gabby Green split duties in Erie FC’s first win of 2026 in Week Four, securing the Pennsylvania club’s best WPSL start since joining the league in 2023. Incoming freshman at Penn St. Behrend, Green took over the goal in the second half and with four big saves, secured the shutout.
“She [Gabby Green] made several key saves helping the team preserve the shutout,” Josh Hopkins, Erie FC coach, said. “In this massive win for our Club, Gabby shined as she commanded her penalty area.”
In her first season with WFC of Charlotte and first game in the WPSL, Emma Carricato helped Charlotte secure a 3-1 win in its season opener. The high school junior played the full 90 minutes, making 12 saves to earn a second-half shutout, only giving up a goal in the 18th minute of the first half.
“Emma has been a stand out from the very beginning with us,” Scott Ginn, WFC of Charlotte head coach, said. “She is exceptional with her feet as well as being an outstanding goalkeeper.”
High school senior Addison Bowles made her WPSL debut for the Nighthawks in its home and season opener while protecting the net for 90 minutes and earning the clean sheet to secure West Region’s Goalkeeper of the Week.
Bowles' poise and confidence in the net was that of a veteran and directed the Nighthawks’ defense calmly and accurately, making five saves to seal the shutout victory at home.
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