⚽ Jayhawks Earn National, Big 12 Weekly Awards

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Following a clutch, game-winning performance in the 2020 season-opener Friday, a trio of Jayhawks earned national and conference weekly awards Tuesday, including senior midfielder Ceri Holland, who was tabbed as the TopDrawerSoccer National Player of the Week. Holland was also named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week and was joined by junior Sarah Peters, who the league named as its Goalkeeper of the Week. Freshman defender Kate Dreyer also earned honorable mention status for TopDrawerSoccer’s Team of the Week.

A native of West Yorkshire, England, Holland came up clutch in the final 10 minutes of the Jayhawks’ season-opener at Texas, as the preseason All-Big 12 pick netted the match’s lone goal with just over nine minutes remaining in regulation. Holland also helped lock things down in the middle of the field for the KU, to go with her goal. She made six tackles and seven interceptions as Kansas picked up the 1-0 season-opening win in Austin. Both honors marked the first weekly honors for Holland.

Registering the 21st clean sheet of her career, Peters claimed the league’s first-ever Goalkeeper of the Week award after helping KU register a 1-0 shutout over Texas. The Lee’s Summit, Missouri native tallied seven saves in the victory, four of which came in the second half. The conference weekly honor is the fourth in Peters’ KU career after she claimed Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week three times over her first two seasons in Lawrence. TopDrawerSoccer also listed Peters as an honorable mention pick for its National Team of the Week.

In the first outing of her collegiate career,  Dreyer anchored the Kansas defense to the shutout victory in Austin. Filling the void left by Addisyn Merrick, the reigning co-Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, at the center of the KU back line, Dreyer and the Jayhawk defense limited Texas to just 12 shots, seven on target on the night. The first-year defender played all 90 minutes in the win.

Holland, Peters, Dreyer and the Jayhawks will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 18 when they welcome the Oklahoma Sooners to Lawrence for their home opener. Start time from Rock Chalk Park is set for 5 p.m. (CT).