PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The Little East Conference (LEC) announced its first set of women’s soccer weekly award winners for the 2026 season, recognizing Western Connecticut State University’s Shannon Anderson and Gracen Regan, Rhode Island College’s Yassin Joof and Eastern Connecticut State University’s Emily McKelvey following standout performances during the opening week of competition.

Offensive Player of the Week – Shannon Anderson, Western Connecticut

Anderson helped lead Western Connecticut to an unbeaten 2-0-2 start to the 2026 season, recording two goals and one assist for five points over the Wolves’ first four matches. The junior forward opened the season with a three-point performance in a 2-1 victory over Westfield State University, scoring the Wolves’ first goal of the season before assisting on Leah Tomeo’s eventual game-winner. Anderson struck again in a 1-0 victory over St. Joseph’s University Long Island, scoring the lone goal of the contest. She finished the opening stretch with a team-high two goals and five points.

Defensive Player of the Week – Yassin Joof, Rhode Island College

Joof played all 180 minutes on the back line as Rhode Island College opened its season with a pair of victories. The senior defender helped anchor a defense that surrendered just one goal across the two contests and limited its opponents to 12 total shots and eight shots on goal. Joof and the Anchorwomen opened the season with a 2-0 shutout victory over Salem State University before earning a 5-1 win over Dean College. Rhode Island College finished the week 2-0 while outscoring its opponents, 7-1.

Goalkeeper of the Week – Gracen Regan, Western Connecticut

Regan was a key part of Western Connecticut’s unbeaten opening week, allowing just two goals across four starts. The senior goalkeeper totaled 25 saves while posting a .926 save percentage and 0.53 goals-against average over 342 minutes in net. Regan opened the season with 12 saves in a 2-1 victory over Westfield State and later helped the Wolves earn consecutive shutouts against Salve Regina University and St. Joseph’s University Long Island. She finished the stretch with a 2-0-2 record as Western Connecticut remained unbeaten through its first four contests.

Rookie of the Week – Emily McKelvey, Eastern Connecticut

McKelvey made an immediate impact to begin her collegiate career, scoring four goals over Eastern Connecticut’s first two matches of the season. The first-year forward scored twice in her collegiate debut, finding the back of the net just 6:48 into the contest before adding her second goal in the Warriors’ 5-1 season-opening victory over St. Joseph’s University Long Island. McKelvey followed with another two-goal performance in Eastern Connecticut’s 2-0 victory over Mount Holyoke College. Through her first two collegiate matches, McKelvey accounted for four goals and eight points while helping the Warriors begin the season 2-0.