Oct. 18, 2005
NORMAL, Ill. -
Illinois State sophomore Yvonne Northover is the first Redbird to be recognized this season as the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Northover emerged as a key factor this past weekend for the `Birds, as she scored goals in both of Illinois State's matches, helping ISU to a 2-1-1 Valley record.
Northover's unassisted goal found the back of the net in the final minutes of regulation and pushed the `Birds to a double-overtime tie with Missouri State on Friday night.
Northover scored her second goal of the weekend Sunday against Evansville. With just 15 seconds left in the first period, she put the `Birds up at the half, 2-1.
These goals added to her arsenal, as she now boasts three goals and two assists, for eight points on the season. On the weekend, Northover totaled seven shots.
Illinois State head coach Pete Kowall is pleased that others are starting to note Northover's presence on the field.
"Yvonne deserves this honor," said Kowall. "She is a good player and she works very hard for our team. Yvonne scores a lot of goals in practice but as a midfielder, it is tough for her to find the spots she needs to get in to score for us. This weekend, she found her spots and played very well. I think this is well-deserved."
Each week, the Valley chooses an Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, according to each nominees' performance. With Northover, Drake's Karisa Vandello, a senior defender, was chosen as this week's State Farm MVC Defensive Player of the Week.
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