Syracuse women’s soccer’s Maya Naimoli claims ACC Goalkeeper of the Week
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Syracuse goalkeeper Maya Naimoli earned Atlantic Coast Conference Goalkeeper of the Week honors, the conference announced Tuesday. The recognition comes after she stopped seven shots across two clean sheets last week. The Orange didn’t have a conference weekly honor last season.
When SU scraped past Northwestern, which made last year’s NCAA Tournament, 1-0 Thursday, Naimoli had a stalwart performance. Four of the final five shots of the first half came from the Wildcats, and she gloved the second on a bottom-right bullet by midfielder Alex Fallon. In the second, the redshirt junior stymied forward Megan Norkett in front of the cage.
But Sunday’s 3-0 triumph over Princeton was when Naimoli came alive. The Tigers dominated and threaded a pair of first-half shots on goal for the Youngstown State transfer. Princeton adjusted to a faster-paced offense in the second, and her save count increased to a season-high five.
Shutouts were Naimoli’s standard before last week. She forged clean sheets in Syracuse’s pair of exhibition fixtures and repeated the feat with a four-save performance in a draw with Villanova. The Wayne, Pennsylvania, native has only conceded once this season against Holy Cross, but she still tallied two saves in that match.
Naimoli’s three shutouts are tied for the most in the ACC, her 3.25 saves per game are tied for second and her 92.9% save percentage sits third. Her dominance has helped answer the Orange’s most glaring question after the departure of program saves leader Shea Vanderbosch.
