ROME, Ga. – Jordan Tomberlin and Darilyn Nieto drew recognition from the USA South Conference office on Monday, September 12th, after leading Salem soccer to a pair of wins last week. Tomberlin was named as the league's Defensive Player of the Week, while Nieto brought home USA South Rookie of the Week honors for the second time in as many weeks.
Tomberlin capped off the week with a 2-1 mark and logged 208 minutes in net. She tallied 15 saves and combined for shutouts of Sweet Briar (8-0) and Johnson & Wales (3-0) along the way. Tomberlin began her week with two saves in the victory over Sweet Briar on September 6th.
Two days later, in a non-conference road clash with Averett, Tomberlin recorded a pair of saves in a 2-1 setback to the Cougars. One of the goals in that match came as a result of an own-goal, due to an errant pass. Tomberlin concluded her three-match week with a 3-0 triumph over Johnson & Wales, making 11 saves along the way.
The 11-save performance against Johnson & Wales marked the second-most in Tomberlin's collegiate career, three off the mark she established versus Greensboro on September 28, 2021. With Tomberlin in net, Salem has now equaled the 2009, 2014, and 2016 squads with three shutouts in the first four matches.
The Merritt Island, Fla., native also becomes first player since Sydney Priest to win multiple Defensive Player of the Week honors in a career. Priest did it twice in 2016, on both September 16th and October 10th. Tomberlin earned her first Defensive Player of the Week honor on October 11, 2021.
Nieto successfully defended her USA South Rookie of the Week honors by scoring four goals, dishing out one assist and recording nine points in three matches. She opened the week with a hat trick against Sweet Briar, after attempting 12 shots (nine SOG), becoming the 18th different Salem player to record a hat trick in program history.
Two of those goals came in the first half versus Sweet Briar, as Salem built a 4-0 lead by the intermission. She found the back of the net for her third goal, following a pass from Miriam Moctezuma, in the 83rd minute to become the first player since Ellie Montes in 2021 to record a hat trick.
After attempting just four shots against Averett, Nieto delivered a goal and an assist in the 3-0 home win against Johnson & Wales. The Greensboro, N.C., native again attempted 12 shots in the match, including eight shots on goal, as Salem posted 28 shots (16 SOG) as a unit. Nieto leads all Salem scorers with six goals, which ranks her eighth nationally and first in the USA South in that category.