Sept. 12, 2012
NORFOLK, VA-- Old Dominion junior forward Tim Hopkinson got another national honor this week as he has been named Disney Soccer/NSCAA Players of the Week for their on-the-field success, Sept. 3-9. The ODU Monarchs travel to Omaha, NE forthe Creighton Classic Sept. 14 and 16. ODU ranks fifth by Soccer America, 11th byCollege Soccer News, 14th by the NSCAA Coaches and 15th by Soccer Times.
The Monarchs (4-0) will play host Creighton (4-0-1), last year's NCAA semifinalist Friday night at 8:30 p.m. eastern time. The Jays remained the top-ranked team in the NSCAA Midwest Regional Rankings. The remaining four national polls have Creighton in varying spots throughout the Top-15. Creighton is ranked No. 12 by College Soccer News No. 6 by Soccer America, No. 4 by Soccer Times and No. 4 by TopDrawer Soccer.
ODU will then play Drake (1-4-1) on Sunday at 12:30 eastern time. William and Mary is also in the Classic. ODU has never played Creighton or Drake before.
In NCAA national statistics ODU is currently tied for No. 1 nationally in goals per game at 3.7 with Maryland and High Point. Individually Tim Hopkinson, the CAA and national player of the week along with senior Chris Harmon rank among the nation's best in scoring. Hopkinson is tied for the national lead with 14 totals points on five goals and four assists with Dan Haber of Cornell and Chris Thomas of Elon. Harmon is eighth in scoring with four goals and one assist for nine total points. Hopkinson is third nationally in assists with four. Last year, the Monarchs ranked second nationally in scoring at 2.3 goals per game.
Last year, ODU ranked as high as eighth on Oct. 24th in the NSCAA Coaches Poll. Previously ODU had been ranked in the nation's top ten in 1981, 1991, 2003, 04, 05, and 06 with the highest ranking ever on Oct. 6, 2003 at number two.
ODU returns home to play Maryland (3-0-1) Tuesday night. The Terps are number 1 by Soccer America, and No. 3 by the NSCAA and College Soccer News.
Hopkinson posted a stellar week at the ODU Stihl Soccer Classic. The Nottingham, England, native recorded four goals and four assists in wins over Seton Hall (6-0) and Winthrop (3-2). He posted a hat trick and added two assists against the Pirates and followed up with a goal and two more assists against the Eagles.Hopkinson was named MVP of the Classic and also earned a Colonial Athletic Association's Player of the Week award as well as College Soccer News National Player of the Week honor.
The Disney Soccer/NSCAA National Players of the Week are announced every Wednesday. One male and one female player is selected by a committee from nominations submitted by NCAA Division I conferences. Winners will also be recognized during the NSCAA College Game of the Week broadcast on FOX Soccer.