Cozzoni, Kowzan sweep weekly A-R-C honors

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Junior Abby Cozzoni and sophomore Hailey Kowzan have been named American Rivers Conference Player of the Week after leading the Simpson College women's soccer team to a perfect 2-0 week in conference action.

The duo played pivotal roles in Simpson's back-to-back shutouts over A-R-C opponents. The Storm (9-5-1, 3-2 A-R-C) defeated Dubuque 3-0 in a mid-week road match before blanking Luther 2-0 on their home turf.

Kowzan earned A-R-C Offensive Player of the Week after scoring two goals against the Spartans and assisting on one against the Norse. Her two-goal performance against Dubuque marked the second time this season the sophomore has scored twice in a contest. Kowzan ranks second on the team with five goals this season.

Cozzoni, this week's A-R-C Defensive Player of the Week, played all 180 minutes of the two wins, anchoring the Storm defense that gave up just six shots on goal over the two-game span while earning their third and fourth shutout of the year. This is the second time Cozzoni has earned player of the week honors in her career; she previously was named Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 16, 2019.

Simpson now has six A-R-C Player of the Week recipients this fall. Kowzan and Cozzoni join fellow teammate Cassie Nash as well as Madeline Streicher (women's golf), Jordy Triana-Vasquez (men's soccer) and Spencer Moon (men's cross country) who each earned the honor in their respective sports.

The women's soccer team has three more matches before the conference tournament on Nov. 3-6. Simpson will travel to Buena Vista on 10/20 and Coe on 10/23 before returning home for the regular season finale on 10/26 against Nebraska Wesleyan.