Nichols earns second straight RRAC Defensive Player of the Week nod
WACO – For a second consecutive game, senior goalkeeper Hayli Nichols anchored the UHV women's soccer team's defense to a shutout win.
The Forney native made a pair of saves in a 1-0 win over Wayland Baptist on Saturday to help the Jaguars move to 2-0 on the year.
Because of that, the Red River Athletic Conference named Nichols its Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. It's the second straight week in which she's garnered Defensive Player of the Week.
"Hayli is full of confidence right now and making some big saves for us in key moments," said head coach Adrian Rigby. "She's very vocal and organizes the team well in front of her which has been very helpful with the amount of new faces playing this year. That's a huge credit to the hard work she and the goalkeepers put in with coach Amanda Bautista."
Nichols' 0.00 goals against average through two matches is currently tied for the lead in the NAIA. She's currently tied for 10th nationally with two shutouts.
Her play has been vital to UHV's hot start to the season, which marks the first time they've opened the season 2-0 since 2021 when the team went on to win 11 matches.
"Being named the RRAC Defensive Player of the Week again is a great honor," Nichols said. "It reflects the hard work of the entire team. I'm really proud of how we're playing and excited about our progress."
The Jaguars are set for their home opener on Friday at 1 p.m. against NCAA Division III foe Schreiner University.