Sept. 11, 2017
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After a weekend full of career first for Olivia Simmons, she was named SEC Freshman of the Week by the conference Monday afternoon.
Simmons is the second Commodore to earn an SEC player of the week award this season. Kaitlyn Fahrner won Defensive Player of the Week following the Boston College and UMass weekend.
This past Friday, Simmons earned her first career start and it didn’t take long for her to have an impact on the game. In the sixth minute, she was able to score the eventual game-winning goal off the assist from fellow freshman Rebecca Rossett. Simons played 71 minutes on the Commodore back line and helped preserve the 1-0 win.
“It didn’t really hit me until I got back to the line that I had just scored my first goal,” stated Simmons following the game Friday night. “It was great because I was struggling to find my way a little bit and get playing time but got an opportunity tonight. So earning the start and the goal really secured what I am supposed to be on this team and why I decided to come here.”
Her performance against the Lady Toppers got her in the starting lineup again on Sunday against Lipscomb. In the 70th minute, Simmons had a throw-in from the left side of the field and she sent it high into the box. Lydia Simmons found her way to the ball and tapped it in the net to tie the game at 1-1.
Less than a minute later, Simmons was at it again with a thrown-in from the opposite side of the field. This time, Stephanie Amack got her head on the ball and sent it far post past the goalie for the game-winning goal.
The Commodores will be back in action this weekend to kick off conference play on the road. They will take on LSU at 4 pm CT Sunday afternoon.
