STANFORD, Calif. – Freshman forward Catarina Macario was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week, as announced Tuesday by the conference.
Macario, who hails from San Diego, led No. 1 Stanford last week with three goals and three assists in wins over Oregon and Oregon State. She leads the Pac-12 in points (33) and assists (9), and ranks third in the nation in points per game (2.06).
In a 4-0 win against Oregon, Macario scored Stanford's first two goals before assisting the third. With the score tied at 0-0 in the 20th minute, Macario bent a 35-yard free kick with pace into the upper corner for her 10th goal of the season.
Not a bad week at the office for @catarinamacario. ??
— Stanford Soccer (@StanfordWSoccer) October 24, 2017
vs. Oregon ???????
vs. Oregon St. ????????#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/uxD9tzbcDH
In the 40th minute, Macario collected a flicked header from Mariah Lee, turning and volleying into the bottom corner from outside the box. In the second half, Macario's bid for a hat trick cannoned off the post and was headed in by Kyra Carusa.
Against Oregon State, Macario assisted Stanford's first two goals in a 6-0 rout. The first came from another Macario free kick, with which she found the head of Carusa at the near post for a headed finish. She set up Michelle Xiao in the 40th minute before scoring Stanford's fourth goal of the day in the second half.
Which Catarina Macario goal was better, 1 or 2?
— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer) October 20, 2017
via @StanfordWSoccer #NCAASoccer pic.twitter.com/ISXBSRegwf
Tierna Davidson started the move from the back, surging forward and combining with Belle Briede and Macario before finding space in the box to cross to Macario. Macario's one-time finish was perfectly placed into the bottom right corner for her 12th goal of the season, which ties with Carusa for the team lead.
This is Stanford's third Pac-12 honor in the past two weeks after Davidson and Lauren Rood earned Player of the Week honors last week. Stanford returns to action on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. PT when it takes on No. 6 UCLA in Los Angeles, followed by a 3 p.m. matchup at No. 5 USC on Sunday. Both games will broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks.