TEMPE – As a product of its results against Texas and Buffalo last week, a pair of Sun Devil Soccer teammates were honored by the Big 12 Conference on Wednesday morning as Kennedy Zorn and Jenna Whinney were selected as the league’s ‘Goalkeeper of the Week’ and ‘Freshman of the Week,’ respectively, the conference announced.
"I was so happy to see both (Kennedy) and Jenna receive these honor," said Sun Devil Soccer head coach Graham Winkworth. "These are two of the hardest-working members in our program and I love seeing that hard work rewarded.
"(Kennedy) made the decision to come home (to Arizona) to play and I am so delighted she did. I know she is so happy to be back playing in front of family and friends. She is, obviously, doing a wonderful job between the posts. She is an inspiration for many of the local young girls, who play soccer and have a dream of one day putting on the Maroon and Gold ... or pink and green - in her case - as a keeper.
"We always talk about having 18 starters, not 11. Jenna emphasized this point on Sunday with a standout performance by changing the game when she came on. She was brave as a freshman to take the penalty (kick) and creat great chances for her teammates to finish. She also gave us the best goal celebration of the season ... so far."
Zorn is the first Sun Devil to earn ‘Goalkeeper of the Week’ since Pauline Nelles was selected as the Pac-12’s Goalkeeper of the Week on Oct. 23, 2023. Whinney’s honor marks the third consecutive season an Arizona State women’s soccer student-athlete has been selected as the Big 12’s Freshman of the Week, joining Kierra Blundell (Sept. 4, 2024) and Addison Baltodano (Sept. 17, 2025).
Zorn becomes just the fifth Sun Devil to ever be awarded the ‘Goalkeeper of the Week’ honor, while Whinney is the third different Arizona State women’s soccer student-athlete to win ‘Freshman of the Week.’
Despite having won multiple combinations of weekly honors in the same week in previous seasons, this, however, marks the first time in program history that Arizona State has won the combination of ‘Goalkeeper’ and ‘Freshman’ of the Week honors in the same week. It is, though, the first time the Sun Devils have earned multiple conference weekly honors in the same week since Aug. 30, 2021, when Lieske Carleer (Defensive) and Birta Gudlaugsdottir (Goalkeeper) were honored by the Pac-12.
Overall, Zorn and Whinney are the 29th and 30th different Sun Devil women’s soccer student-athletes to earn a conference player of the week honor.
Whinney’s two assists in 42 minutes off the bench in ASU’s 5-0 win over Buffalo on Sunday were the most assists by a Sun Devil defender in a single match since Aug. 24, 2023, when Mya Wheeler was credited with two at New Mexico State. Whinney’s four points (1 G, 2 A) against the Bulls were the most points credited to an Arizona State defender in a single match under 10-year head coach Graham Winkworth. Whinney joined teammate Blundell, a forward, as the only Sun Devils to score a goal and be credited with an assist in the same match this season. She is also the first ASU defender to score a goal and be credited with an assist during the same match since Jayda Hulton-Pelaia did so against Central Arkansas on Aug. 19, 2021.
Zorn tied her single-match career high with back-to-back four-save performances in her first regular season matches in Tempe since transferring from Michigan State during the offseason. In over 160 minutes of match action on the week, Zorn allowed just one goal: to Texas’ two-time All-SEC and All-Southeast Region forward Amalia Villarreal. She would have gone on to record her first career solo clean sheet as a Sun Devil against Buffalo on Sunday but was subbed out with 19 minutes left in regulation due to ASU’s sizeable lead. As a result, Zorn and teammate Izzy Duink shared the combined clean sheet on the afternoon.
Up Next
Arizona State (2-0-1) will continue its four-match home stand on Thursday, Aug. 27, when the Sun Devils welcome the LSU Tigers (1-3-0) to Sun Devil Soccer Stadium for a 7 p.m. MST kickoff on ESPN+. The Tigers have dropped back-to-back matches against UCF (2-1) and Florida Gulf Coast (3-2) heading into Thursday’s matchup at ASU.
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