The NESCAC has released its Players of the Week for the week ending September 20. The conference recognizes student-athletes for each sport based on their contributions to their team each week, based on information provided by the athletic communications offices on each campus. During the fall season, football, field hockey, men's soccer, women's soccer, and volleyball will be announced on Mondays, while cross country runners of the week and golfers of the week will be announced on Tuesdays when selected.

NESCAC Field Hockey Player of the Week | Weekly Release
Hannah Balmelli – Bowdoin – Jr. – M – Lake Forest, Ill.
Balmelli scored the game-winning goal in consecutive days as the Polar Bears defeated a pair of top-ten teams in one-goal victories last weekend at Ryan Field. On Saturday, Balmelli put home a scramble in front of the net with 3:46 to go, giving Bowdoin a 2-1 win over No. 10 Wesleyan. On Sunday, Balmelli scored the game’s only goal early in the second half of a 1-0 victory against No. 5 Williams.

NESCAC Football Offensive Player of the Week | Weekly Release
Christian Shapiro – Tufts – Sr. – RB – South Salem, N.Y.
Shapiro became the first Tufts running back to score four rushing touchdowns in a single game since 2018, helping the Jumbos post a 42-28 win over Hamilton in the season opener. Shapiro rushed for 110 yards on 27 carries, scoring from 17 yards out along with a pair of 2-yard touchdowns and a 1-yard score. Shapiro has scored in nine straight games for the Jumbos.

NESCAC Football Defensive Player of the Week
Jordan Summers – Amherst – So. – DB – Arlington, Mass.
Summers made six tackles (4 solo) and returned an interception 18 yards for a win-clinching touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Mammoths' 24-14 victory over Bates. Summers also added one pass break-up in the victory.

NESCAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Leonardo Maiuolo – Williams – Sr. – P/K – San Jose, Calif.
Maiuolo performed his punting and placekicking duties to perfection in Williams’ 17-7 victory over visiting Bowdoin on Saturday. As a punter, he crushed five punts for an average of 46.6 yards, the second-best average in a game in his career. Three punts ended up inside the Polar Bear 20, and his longest boot of the day went 57 yards, with another traveling 53 yards, and Bowdoin did not attempt to return the ball once. Maiuolo also scored five points for the Ephs with two PATs and a 20-yard field goal.

NESCAC Men’s Soccer Player of the Week | Weekly Release
Oliver King – Bowdoin – So. – GK – Hyattsville, Md.
King led the Polar Bears with three shutout wins last week, including clean-sheet victories against top-ranked Wesleyan and No. 11 Williams on consecutive days. King posted seven saves against the Cardinals on Saturday before recording nine stops against Williams on Sunday, both 1-0 Polar Bear wins. King and the Bowdoin defense have not allowed a goal in the last 315:31 minutes.

NESCAC Women’s Soccer Player of the Week | Weekly Release
Maren Jones – Tufts – Jr. – M – Mill Valley, Calif.
The Jumbos went 1-0-2 in three NESCAC matchups last week. Maren Jones (Mill Valley, Calif.) led Tufts with two goals and two assists. The junior scored the first goal of the game and tallied an assist in a 2-0 shutout over No. 6 Wesleyan on Tuesday. In a 2-2 draw versus Connecticut College on Saturday, Jones dished out an assist from a corner kick on the Jumbos' second and final goal of the contest. In a 1-1 tie against Trinity on Sunday, the midfielder buried a game-tying marker in the 79th minute to help Tufts remain unbeaten.

NESCAC Volleyball Co-Players of the Week | Weekly Release
Sofia Castiglioni – Bates – Sr. – MB – Oakland, Calif.
Castiglioni dominated in the middle in a 3-0 week for the Bobcats, averaging 2.50 kills per set with a hitting percentage of .483. The senior averaged 0.83 blocks per set for the week, including six blocks and 10 kills in Saturday's 3-1 win over Williams. It marked Bates' first win over the Ephs since 1999. Earlier in the week, Castiglioni recorded a season-high 12 kills with a .500 hitting percentage as Bates won a 3-2 thriller over the University of New England. The Bobcats are off to a 7-0 start, keyed by the two best middle blockers in the NESCAC, as Castiglioni (.416) and teammate Anaïs Reneaum (.432) rank second and first, respectively, in the conference in hitting percentage.

Alison Smith – Bowdoin – Jr. – RS – Winnetka, Ill.
In a perfect 4-0 week for the Polar Bears, including a pair of NESCAC wins and a non-conference comeback victory over UMass Boston, Smith averaged 3.50 kills with a .318 hitting percentage. Smith posted a match-high 23 kills in a comeback five-set victory at Conn. College on Friday and a team-best 14 kills in a reverse sweep of UMass Boston on Saturday.