Ledezma and Poortinga Sweep GSAC Player of the Week Honors
GLENDALE, Ariz. – ACU women’s soccer forward Irene Ledezma and goalkeeper Jackie Poortinga have been voted Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week and Defensive Player of the Week according to an official release from the conference office earlier today.
Ledezma excelled in last week’s season finale as she played a direct role in all four goals scored in the 4-0 shutout win over William Jessup. The match was her third multi-goal contest of the season and lifted her to third all-time in career goals (20), and tied her for second all-time in career points (54). The pair of goals and assists also secured her spot as ACU’s season leader in points (17), goals (7), and assists (3).
Returning from an injury that had kept her sidelined for over three weeks, Poortinga was a force in-goal during last week’s 4-0 shutout of William Jessup. It was her first shutout of the season as she also had her second-highest season total of saves (5). She has also logged 26 saves overall this season in six games, with 489:02 minutes played in-goal.
Head Coach Josh Macharia said of his two players, “Irene and Jackie were both fantastic this week. Irene was on fire and almost everything that she wanted to do on the field worked out for her. It was great to see her play that way and to be rewarded with two goals and two assists. It was equally great to have Jackie back in-goal for us. She is an extremely talented goalie, and her play against William Jessup showed just that. I am very proud of both players and I am incredibly excited to see what they will accomplish in the future!”
Ledezma is poised to return to the program next season and should be a key factor in ACU’s offensive gameplan. Poortinga’s career as a member of the Firestorm women’s soccer program came to an end after the shutout win over Jessup, but she is now set to pursue a career in her field as she leaves college.
