Following her stellar performance in goal as the Dons upset reigning national champion No. 19 Santa Clara, junior goalkeeper Molly Eby has been awarded the West Coast Conference's Defensive Player of the Week. The WCC announced the selection on Monday morning.Â
Helping the Dons to one of their most historic wins in program history, the redshirt junior goalkeeper logged eight saves in USF's 2-0 upset win over No. 19 Santa Clara. Taking down the defending national champs, the Dons defeated the Broncos at home for the first-time ever and only the second time in history.
"Molly has deserved this recognition for a while with really good performances against some top teams," Assistant Coach Pinder Nijjar said. "She has been a massive part of our leadership early in the season and doing a lot of tasks/jobs behind the scenes that most people don't appreciate or notice."
Â
Individually, Eby's eight saves marked her second-most in a match this season. Notably, it was also her second shutout so far this Fall. This award marked the first time a Dons' player has won Player of the Week so far this season.
In an interview with Portland City United, Molly said "I became interested in soccer at a very young age. I played Rec starting in first grade and from the first year we were able to have goalies I fell in love with the position. I love being on a team, but I also love the individual aspect of being a goalie. At times there is a lot of pressure in my position, but I love the pressure and it makes me a better player. I can't imagine my life without soccer and it will be hard when my career ends in a few short weeks (PCU.com)."
She was named to the WCC Women's Academic Soccer Team for 2021-2022. She graduated in 2020 with a Bachelors in Kinesiology, and earned a Masters in Sports Management in 2022. She is currently employed in management at USF.
Â
