BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – After a pair of shutout performances and a four-point week in the standings for the Alabama State University women's soccer team, sophomore midfielder
Serenity Safeeullah and senior goalkeeper
Deetya Satyal were given weekly honors by the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), the organization announced Tuesday evening.
Safeeullah, the second-year leader of the Lady Hornets frontline, was named the SWAC Offensive Player of the Week after recording her first hat trick while recording double-digit shots and adding an assist on the week. Satyal, who won a lengthy, three-way goalkeeper battle early in the season, put a wall in front of the opening of the net in the team's two games, and for that, was named the SWAC Goalkeeper of the Week.
The team's offensive spurt came against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Thursday evening, and Safeeullah was in the center of all the action. The Nashville, Tenn., native attempted 10 shots, putting five on target, while scoring a trio of goals to go along with an assist for seven total points on the day. Her first goal of the game was the team's second in the game's first 10 minutes, while she had a pair of second-half goals in the 64th and 84th minutes, the latter coming on a penalty kick to make it 11-0.
Additionally, she contributed to the first of
Queenster Mensah's two 74th-minute goals, aiding her on her first career goal while helping her get halfway to her first career brace. The second-year Hornet's seven points (two per goal, one per assist) were the most for an ASU player in over a decade, with Aaliyah Lewis last accomplishing the feat in October 2015. It was also the team's first hat trick since Rachel Mull's performance in September 2024, with the three-goal effort coming in a 4-1 win over Faulkner.
This marks Safeeullah's second conference honor of her career, as she also claimed a Newcomer of the Week honor after her first career goal against Mobile in August of last year. She now leads the team in goals (4), points (9), shots (26) and shots on goal (11) while starting 12 of her 13 games played for head coach
Alicia Wilson.
Satyal, meanwhile, posted one of her finest performances in the second game of the week, preserving a scoreless draw for the Lady Hornets against the Southern Jaguars. Despite being outshot on the day, the Hornets' goalkeeper recorded six saves – two shy of her season-best performance – while facing 13 total shots. She also earned the victory after playing in 45 minutes of the 12-0 win over UAPB, keeping a clean sheet and paving the way for rookie
Slater Copeland to do the same in the second half.
The recognition for Satyal is the first such honor for an ASU keeper since October 2024. The senior from Nepal has played in and started nine games since transferring from Wheeling (W. Va.) this past offseason, recording 25 saves with a 65 percent save mark while facing 93 total shots on the season. She was in the goal for both of the team's victories, and now boasts a 2-6-1 record with a shutout on her resume.
Safeeullah, Satyal and the rest of the Lady Hornets (2-10-3, 2-3-2 SWAC) take the home pitch for one final time in 2026, as it welcomes Jackson State, the SWAC's top-seeded team, to the ASU Soccer Complex for its regular season finale on Sunday, Nov. 1, with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
